Systems and methods for processing data involving digital content, digital products and/or experiences, such as throughout auction, sweepstakes and/or fulfillment processing

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods described herein relate to processing of information, data and automated transaction information involving content and/or experiences. In some exemplary implementations, illustrative automated methods of computerized information processing may involve automated auction processing, sweepstakes processing, handling, fulfillment and/or particular checkout processing of product(s) and/or item(s), including product(s) and/or item(s) such as experiences, physical products, digital products, and/or other offerings by luminaries. According to certain implementations, various product types, flag and/or identifiers are utilized in automated transformations of various purchasable products among the various offerings.

RELATED APPLICATION(S) INFORMATION

This application claims benefit/priority of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 62/066,308, filed Oct. 20, 2014, which are incorporatedherein by reference in entirety.

APPENDIX MATERIALS

Appendices, labeled “Appendix A”, “Appendix B” and “Appendix C” areincluded herewith and incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety. This application also includes and hereby incorporates byreference computer program code appendix materials submitted herewith asfurther Appendices of computer code. In particular, the appendixentitled Appendix 2 discloses code that relates to the invention(s)disclosed in this application.

BACKGROUND

Implementations herein relate to systems and methods of processing andautomatically processing data associated with networked systemsincluding features and functionality related to processing informationassociated with first users, such as celebrities, luminaries and/orthose with marketable talents and skills or abilities to provideproducts such as interesting experiences, related to interaction withother users, such as fans of the celebrities and luminaries or any usersinterested in securing such products and/or experiences.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED INFORMATION AND DEMAND

Celebrities want to offer their work and/or content directly to theirfans without gatekeepers like networks, publishers, and record labels,and other middlemen standing in the way preventing them from doing so ortaking a large cut of their revenue they could realize from suchofferings. The few mundane options that exist have so many drawbacksthat they are typically not worth the time needed to employ them.

Fans that are passionate i.e. ‘power fan’ users are willing to pay forexclusive content and opportunities from the celebrities they idolize.Moreover, celebrities would like an easy and reputation-preserving wayto make money by selling content and experiences to fans, but there arecurrently many barriers to doing this in a meaningful and efficient way.The lack of a platform/marketplace to facilitate such transactionsresults in a great deal of pent-up supply and unfulfilled demand. Thereis a need for systems and methods that solve such problems, e.g., viaimplementations that involve features such as publicizing thisopportunity, registering and enrolling fans and users, collectingrevenue, offering access to digital content and other opportunitiesdirectly to the fans/users for a set price, for instance a monthlysubscription price, and/or delivering the content and opportunities onbehalf of the celebrity.

In some cases, especially when there's a large demand relative tosupply, then offering products as an auction, is the best way to get themaximum price that some buyer is willing to pay for the product orexperience.

In other cases, the product offered is so special and the price is sohigh, that a sweepstakes can be offered, where potential customers canpurchase for a nominal price the chance to win the item in a randomdrawing. The sum of the revenue from many customers purchasing a chanceto win the offered product, can generate more revenue than could beearned by auction or by setting a high price for the offering, which maybe so high that nobody can afford to buy it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE IMPLEMENTATIONS

For a better understanding of the various implementations described inthis application, reference should be made to the Detailed Descriptionbelow, in conjunction with the following drawings in which likereference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an illustrative system andinteractions between components thereof, consistent with one or moreaspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting in greater detail an illustrativeexperience fulfillment system and interactions between componentsthereof, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting an example customer background checkprocess consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting an illustrative process offulfillment architecture consistent with one or more aspects related tothe innovations herein.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example administrative graphical userinterface consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting interactions among the elements ofthe systems consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein.

FIG. 7 is another block diagram depicting further interactions among theelements of the systems consistent with one or more aspects related tothe innovations herein.

FIG. 8A is an exemplary processing diagram showing process flowinvolving various system elements and/or transformations consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 8B is an exemplary processing diagram showing process flowinvolving various system elements and/or transformations consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart depicting an example of order placementconsistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of exemplary shopping cart/ordering pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of exemplary checkout/shipping pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of exemplary billing/purchasing pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of further exemplary billing/purchasingpages, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of exemplary purchase finalization pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of exemplary confirmation pages, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of an exemplary experience page, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 17 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 18 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, to enable usersto harness the power of social media with the experience fulfillmentsystem, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 19 is an illustration of an exemplary social media site permissionspage, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein.

FIG. 20 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page displayed whenthe user is logged in, consistent with one or more aspects related tothe innovations herein.

FIG. 21A depicts certain exemplary system and transformation processingas between initial, auction, and sweepstakes states, consistent with oneor more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 21B depicts certain exemplary system and transformation processingas between initial, auction, and/or sweepstakes states and associateddata formats/types, consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein.

FIG. 21C illustrates a flow diagram of exemplary processing used incertain implementations herein related to performing automatedprocessing such as determinations regarding handling and/or display ofproduct transaction processing, consistent with one or more aspectsrelated to the innovations herein.

FIGS. 22A-22D illustrate example non-auction purchase processscreenshots, consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein.

FIGS. 23A-23D illustrate example non-sweepstakes purchase processscreenshots, consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein.

FIG. 24 depicts certain exemplary product sale processing, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIGS. 25A-25C illustrate example auction process screenshots, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 26 depicts certain exemplary auction processing, consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIGS. 27A-27D illustrate example sweepstakes process screenshots,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

FIG. 28 depicts certain exemplary sweepstakes processing, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary implementations,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In thefollowing detailed description, numerous specific details are set forthin order to provide a sufficient understanding of the subject matterpresented herein. But it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art that the subject matter may be practiced without these specificdetails. Moreover, particular aspects described herein are provided byway of example and should not be used to limit the scope of theinvention to these particular implementations. In other instances,certain well-known data structures, timing protocols, softwareoperations, procedures, and components have not been described in detailso as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments of theinvention.

Celebrities want to offer their work and/or content directly to theirfans/users without gatekeepers such as third party networks, publishers,and record labels, and other middlemen standing in the way preventingthem from doing so or taking revenue they could realize from suchofferings. Accordingly, the present systems and methods allowcelebrities, via platform tools and computer network features andfunctionality as set forth herein, to offer access to digital contentand other opportunities directly to the fans/users for a set price, forinstance, a monthly subscription price.

“Celebrities” as referenced in this disclosure include, but are notlimited to, individuals who possess extraordinary ability in thesciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who have ademonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion pictureor television industry and have been recognized nationally orinternationally for those achievements. “Celebrities” as referenced inthis disclosure also include luminaries: people who are generallyaccomplished and marketable.

Implementations herein provide a technology platform and/or systems ormethods that may make the process for exclusive subscription baseddigital media content between a celebrity and a fan centralized withoutmiddlemen, according to some embodiments. This system provides a socialmiddleware and a data platform by reducing transactional friction andproviding transaction sharing, security, and privacy. It can alsoprovide personal verification for fans/users.

From a fan/user's perspective, there is currently a barrier between themand the person whom they admire. The fan/user often desires directinteraction with these celebrities but security concerns can keepcelebrities away from personal interactions and events that make thatviable. Currently, fans/users must work hard to find memorabiliaauctions or follow those they admire social media sites, but thefan/user must proactively search these out. Fans/users also useentertainment news, fan magazines and fan clubs, but, among otherthings, these channels of information are not personal, two-way, orunique. Fans/users may also attend live events to meet or experiencebeing near celebrities, for example, book signings, concerts,conventions, sporting events and charity fundraisers are among the mostpopular ways fans/users have an experience with their favoritecelebrities. However, all of these lack an element of uniqueness andexclusivity, which this system can facilitate.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an illustrative system andinteractions between components thereof, consistent with one or moreaspects related to the innovations herein. Referring to FIG. 1, suchsystem may serve as a direct channel that automates the connectionbetween celebrities, their fans/users and/or other people or entitieswho want to offer them opportunities. In some implementations, it may beconfigured as a connection platform providing delivery andauthentication of premium content and unique experiences for fans/users.As mentioned above, celebrity time and attention is a commodity that isoften under-leveraged.

Systems herein serve as a marketplace for that commodity. The site andplatform need not necessarily eliminate intermediary parties (agent,manager, publicist, etc.), but they may render their job more efficientby enabling middlemen to evaluate celebrity placements and focus onthose considered more worthwhile. A celebrity may employ agents inaddition to the systems and methods herein to maximize opportunities.Celebrities may also feel more comfortable using this system, as opposedto existing social media platforms, because it has cloaking tools thatpreserve their privacy while ensuring authenticity for a fan.

Computer networks as well as associated computer components andprocessing may be leveraged to provide such communication ability anddirect exposure. The illustrative diagram of FIG. 1 shows an example ofsuch a network 100. For instance, an experience fulfillment internaldatabase 101 may be in communication with an experience fulfillmentsystem 200. The experience fulfillment system 200 may be configured incommunication with one or more external databases 102, a vendorfulfillment component 105, the Internet 104, and a front end socialnetworking site application interface 103 by way of the Internet 104.Other system configurations may be possible. For example, only aninternal database 101 or external database 102 may be provided, and/orthe network 100 components may communicate via connections other thanthe Internet 104.

The front end interface 105 is the forward facing interface forcustomers (typically, but not necessarily, fans). The vendor fulfillmentcomponent is the rear facing part of the system that connects withvendors (typically, but not necessarily, celebrities, public figures,their management, or other related personnel). Thus, the experiencefulfillment system 200 and experience fulfillment internal database 101allow the customers and the vendors to connect, both in an informationprocessing context and directly. The system enables physical or digitalexperiences or services to be scheduled, planned, occur, etc., withoutthird party complications or intervention. The system may be configuredto function with physical products/experiences and/or digitalproducts/experiences 108.

In some implementations, vendors may upload experience-based productswhich appear on the front end interface 105. The customers may then findthe experiences and/or products on the front end interface 105 andpurchase these experiences and/or products. The experience fulfillmentsystem 200 may also generate information such as confirmation messagesto both the customers and vendors. The experience fulfillment system 200handles the financial aspects of the transactions and/or bankinteractions. Vendor and customer may optionally negotiate a schedulefor the experience as well as a location for the experience, be iteither digital or physical. Customers and vendors can check the statusof the experience deal by logging into the front end interface 105 or byreceiving status updates from the experience fulfillment system 200.

The experience fulfillment system 200 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 iscomprised of various components, which include but are not limited to aprocessor/circuit 201, social media UI module 210, experience module220, vendor UI module 230, checkout module 240, gift module 250,background check module, fulfillment module 270, digital subscriptionmodule 280, and front end UI module 290. These components may be used toperform the processes described below in greater detail.

According to the features shown in FIG. 1 and described elsewhereherein, the present systems and methods may be configured with variousinputs and outputs. For example, implementations may process informationreceived from components associated with entities such as customers,fans, users, studios, companies, potential partners, talent/celebritiesor their representatives. Other inputs and information processedtherefrom may include data from payment related components, dataregarding items for sale or auction, content coming in for submission,information associated with cloaking and/or security, and/orcommunications from anyone who wants access to the celebrity (e.g.,brands, producer, charity, fans/users, etc.).

After processing and/or transformation via the systems and methodsherein, outputs as well as information or data regarding products andexperiences coming out of the system may include experiences in bothphysical and digital form, one or more interfaces for celebrities whichallow them to approve or decline transactions, personalized orcustomized content for fans/users, streaming services, and portals orcomponents for the creation of in-house content, among other things.

With respect to systems and methods herein configured as platform-typearrangements, implementations may include or involve a socialmiddleware, other data platform and/or related components. Here, forexample, such implementations may be configurable as a social middlewarethat combines social media and online commerce. For example, a systemmay be configured as a stand-alone platform that integrates with othersocial media platforms, including features of focus and personalizationkeyed to the specific interests of a user set forth in the social mediaplatform. Implementations may also be configured as a digital repositoryof opportunities for artists, athletes, and/or other notable figures,including features that assist these individuals in more fully utilizingtheir time and earning potential.

Further, connection between celebrities and the public may be configuredwith a cloaking service/technology that provides a measure of securityand privacy for the celebrities. Such cloaking components may allowcelebrities using the system to interact with fans/users via socialplatforms without having to reveal or compromise personal accounts orinformation. Systems herein may also serve as a trusted marketplaceplatform that lies between the celebrity and the fans/users.

The present system may also include a data platform that allows forinformation, online communication, and the exchange of opportunitiesbetween those using the platform, whether they be consumers,celebrities, charities, etc. Those opportunities may be syndicatedand/or archived on their behalf, creating an idea bank that isaccessible to multiple users.

As such, implementations are provided where platforms or marketplacesthat resolve unfulfilled demand are accomplished and/or wherecelebrities achieve a reputation-preserving way to make money by sellingcontent and experiences to fans/users. According to some embodiments,for example, systems and methods herein may resolve the underlyingdrawbacks via features of publicizing this opportunity over computernetworks, registering and enrolling fans/users, collecting payments,and/or processing or delivering the content, opportunities andexperiences on behalf of the celebrity.

Without the present systems and functionality, fans or users wouldtypically receive filtered content not from the celebrity themselves butfrom the people or entities that represent them. The content that issent out directly from a celebrity via their own social media accountsis usually sent to many sources at once and may lack an exclusivity thatmany fans crave. Also, agents and middlemen generally require a fee oftheir celebrity clients, whereas the present systems may fill gap in acelebrity's opportunity lineup without such middleman influences.

There are multiple illustrative scenarios wherein the platform may beused. Some of these include the promotion of events, charitablefundraisers, memorabilia sales, agents wanting to streamline thesubmission of opportunities to the celebrities they represent, andsituations where celebrities wish to have direct control overopportunities without the need for a middleman, among other things.

Artists, athletes, and luminaries are accomplished people with time andattention that isn't fully utilized. Fame is an intangible asset, butfame has a marketplace value when attached to the time, activities, andmemorabilia of a notable person. The systems and methods describedherein provide a central way to monetize a celebrity brand and aplatform for trading on their famous names for commerce other than viaHollywood-style agents and gatekeepers or other middlemen. The systemsand methods described herein are also configured to provide alternativeopportunities to celebrities than those that may be found by an agent ormiddlemen, who may be unable or unwilling to find every opportunitygiven their own workloads and commitments.

Furthermore, the systems and methods described herein can enablecelebrities to sidestep the issue wherein an agent usually earns apercentage of a client's paycheck, even when the client finds andnegotiates his or her own deals. Not every deal needs an agent and,sometimes, a fan might be a better source for certain types ofopportunities. For example, a corporate CEO who is obsessed withbaseball might want to invite star baseball players to appear at anevent, but an agent might dismiss the request as not being worth thetime. Yet, the retired player would have liked to take part in theopportunity.

Thus, this system can help celebrities or their representatives maximizesmaller and/or alternate opportunities for local celebrities, such aslocal sports stars or regional TV personalities, this may be asignificant method by which they can extend their income and connectwith fans/users.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting an example customer background checkprocess consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein. This process may be performed by the processor circuit 201and/or background check module 260 of the system 200. Systems andmethods, here, may provide functionality that help monitor and maintainsecurity for celebrities. Such celebrities may spend a great deal ofmoney on physical security when they make personal appearances, but theycannot attend every event in person because not every event can bevetted. As such, these background/security implementations and tools mayprovide personalized interaction with fans/users while maintaining alayer of security and privacy. In some implementations, for example,ProductTypes that require background checks, because of the physicalpresence of the customer with celebrity/luminary, may undergo the sameprocessing when acquired by winning a sweepstakes, or being the highbidder in an action, as when purchased as a normal product.

Additionally, there may be a need for a fan to verify that an onlinecelebrity, or their piece of memorabilia, is authentic. Authenticationof items signed by notable people affects the value of the item, as wellas the reputation of all involved in its sale. Furthermore, there aresome challenges to the process of purchasing and consumingcelebrity-related content. Consumers have an expectation that they canpurchase content on-demand, however region-locking and release windowtechnologies may impede this process, even if consumers will buy contentlegally when available, but will resort to pirating if not legallyavailable.

Other example uses for this system may involve using Security AP is As acomponent of the system, such as implementations that includevideo/audio fingerprinting.

Further, systems and methods herein may involve various features relatedto security, according to some embodiments. For example, implementationsmay be configured to handle security problems in a multitude of ways,including watermarking, to ensure paywall integrity, and Digital RightsManagement (DRM). Such security may be useful for celebrities to protecttheir online content and identities.

Methods here may also involve verification of the various opportunities,according to some embodiments. Here, implementations may be configuredwith features to protect the reputation of the celebrity and/or theauthenticity of the good, service or offering, things that celebritiesmay be concerned about. Such system verification processes may ensurethat opportunities for celebrities are legitimate, and backed by whomthey assert they are backed. Functionality may also be provided toassure fans/users that the celebrity experience is authentic. Further,implementations may be configured with a ratings system for bothfans/users and celebrities, to help provide measures of assurance forpeople on the platform, according to some embodiments. Suchimplementations may even incorporate information from other social mediasites to make it more interactive.

Referring to the illustrative processing shown in FIG. 3,implementations here may first check to see if the products in thisorder require scheduling or a background check, at 302. If not,processing may proceed through steps 322 and 338, to the end 348, afterwhich the system continues at step 912 in FIG. 9.

If scheduling or a background check is needed and hasn't already beenaccomplished, then processing may be performed to reach out to thecustomer to collect background information, at 304. Such processing mayresult in the initiation of various communications, such as emails,phone calls, and/or other methods or functionality. Further illustrativeprocessing may be performed, at 306, if a response from the customer isnot received within a third pre determined time value, such as 7 daysfor example. Here, if the item ordered is a gift 308, thenimplementations may follow up with an email to the giftee, at 310, aswell as with an email to the buyer, at 312. Such communications may beoptional and may serve as additional prompts to get the informationneeded to fulfill the experience item. Turning back to the illustratedprocessing, implementations may wait up to a fourth predetermined timevalue, such as 7 days for example, for a response, at 314. If noresponse is received, attempts to contact the customer and/or giftee maybe escalated, at 316. Such escalation may include functionality in theform performing processing to initiate phone calls or othercommunications by a customer service/concierge component or individual.Again, implementations may wait a fifth predetermined time value setperiod such as 7 days for example, at 318, and, if a response is stillnot received, additional processing may be performed. For example,implementation may wait a sixth predetermined time value, such as 1 yearfor example, for a non-gift order 344/342, after which the order will becancelled, at 340. For a gifted order, implementations may wait aseventh pre determined time value, for example almost indefinitely, fora response, at 346.

Functions associated with gift processing may be performed by theprocessor circuit 201 and/or gift module 250 of the system 200.

Ifat any point in the process, a response is received from the customer,then the various information needed from the customer may be collected,at 320. If a background check is required, information may be collectedfrom the customer, or from the giftee in case of a gift. If schedulingis required, information may be collected about the customer's orgiftee's availability. Here, for example, implementations may beconfigured to collect at least 3 days and times that the customer isavailable. Once the needed information is collected from the customer,the system may access information regarding subsequent processing to beperformed, at 322. For example, if scheduling is required 332,processing may be performed to contact the luminary/vendor to see if anyof the dates and times that the customer is available match up with theavailability of the luminary/vendor, at 334. Implementations may beconfigured such that the customer or giftee cannot just specify a timethat they want the experience to happen, because the luminary/vendormust also be available for the experience to occur. If any of the timesspecified by the customer are acceptable to the luminary/vendor, thenthe agreed upon date and time is confirmed and processed by the system,at 336. If the luminary/vendor is not available at any of the timesspecified by the customer, then implementations may perform processingto allow the luminary/vendor to enter several dates and times into thesystem as to when the luminary/vendor is available, at 336.

If, at 324, a background check is required, then the background checkprocessing/processes may be started at 326. This process may beperformed by the processor circuit 201 and/or background check module260 of the system 200. The results of the background check, oncecomplete, may be entered into the system for processing, at 328. Thesystem may then evaluate if scheduling/background check process hadcompleted successfully, at 338. If the celebrity/vendor had not agreedwith the customer available dates, but had specified alternatives, thenthe scheduling problem may be deemed fixable and the system loops backto contact the customer or giftee, this time communicating to thecustomer the alternative times that the vendor is available, as per step302 and onward. It is possible that the customer and luminary/vendorcannot find a mutually agreeable time to schedule, in which case theorder is canceled, at 340. If the background check fails outright, theorder may also be cancelled 340. In some cases, a background check mayend up in a marginal state, that needs further evaluation.

In these cases, various processing may be performed as to how toproceed. In these marginal cases, processing might be performed to reachout to the customer again 338, 302, e.g. to gather additionalinformation to help decide whether to accept or cancel the order. If allthe checks pass successfully, the scheduling and background checkprocesses are flagged as complete, at 348, and the process proceeds fromstep 908, in FIG. 9, to step 912.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting an illustrative process of fulfillmentarchitecture consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein. This process may be performed by the processorcircuit 201 and/or fulfillment module 270 of the system 200. Throughthis system, fans/users gain access to exclusive content, experiences,and items directly through a celebrity's page, and this system providesa platform for fans/users to complete the transaction. This can includeeverything from finding what they want to purchase, arranging forshipping and billing, and finally paying to complete the transaction allin one centralized place.

Celebrities are looking for new, unimpeded ways to engage their fanbase. Existing social media platforms, such as those on the Internet,are useful for broadcasting comments and promoting appearances, but arenot conducive to interacting with fans/users in a potentially lucrativeway.

Some traditional methods of engaging the fan base and press are also notpopular with celebrities. For example, many celebrities dislike thepress and find promotional tours exhausting. Currently, these mediatours are the best and only way for celebrities to promote themselves asa brand. There are also not easy nor accessible ways to promote as wellas actively sell that brand when a celebrity doesn't have an upcomingfilm or TV show that's worthy of a sponsored junket.

Another problem with fan engagement is that it involves one way fansolicitation of the celebrity. For example, fans/users may have to lineup outside of theaters, send tweets, post social media messages, writefan mail and many other activities in the hope that the celebrity willpick them for an autograph, special connection on social media etc. Assuch, there is a need for systems and methods that offer morepredictable options for fans/users willing to pay to ensure that theyget the attention they crave. Implementations herein provide tools tosupplement and enhance the fan interaction with celebrities with agreater degree of certainty.

Also, current methods of reaching fans/users are limiting forcelebrities. Many don't know that they can provide a meaningfulconnection to fans/users via social media with minimal effort. Examplesof under-utilized tools are video chat, email exchange, micro-bloggingsites, etc. However, in the present implementations, especially whencombined with cloaking devices, the privacy of celebrities can beprotected while their direct interaction with fans/users increases.

There are many other problems with current celebrity marketing. Forexample, for celebrities who aren't as popular, or who have a nichelevel of fame, there are also very few good ways to make money off ofthat fame. For instance, there may a retired sports star might own somemarket-worthy memorabilia but that star may have had a relatively shortathletic career, and may not even have an agent. This can make it hardto find and tap into their existing fan base. Currently, if the athletewants to make money selling their memorabilia, he or she mightparticipate in a convention attended by fans/users. However, thatathlete may have more fans/users dispersed throughout the United Statesor the world, who aren't able to attend such a convention.

Implementations herein utilize online solutions that enable thecelebrity to sell memorabilia online, and reach a wider audience thanoffline. But selling personal memorabilia on a website such as eBay maynot be optimal, and does not necessarily enhance their personal brand orimage. And because celebrities sometimes only sell to niche markets, andbecause they may not have the tools to reach a large number of peoplewithin that market, it's likely that they are not receiving market pricefor their time and/or memorabilia. Systems and methods herein mayincrease and help to set the income they receive from selling thismemorabilia or making personal appearances by streamlining the salesprocess for celebrities, aiding in booking appearances and maintainingcelebrity reputations.

The illustrative flowchart 400 regarding fulfillment architecture ofFIG. 4 shows an example of how items can get fulfilled by the back endsystems. The process of fulfillment may vary as a function of the typeof product and the identity of the entity fulfilling the request.

FIG. 4 also illustrates exemplary order status IDs that correspond toeach step in the process. Also shown are credit charging steps. In theprocess, revenue is recognized when the item reaches the shipped step.

For example, each process begins with a checkout in 402. The checkouteither fails, and is cancelled in 404, or succeeds and begins thefulfillment process. If the checkout succeeds, the order is placed andchecked for fraud in 406. If the fraud check passes, the checkoutproceeds to fulfillment ready stage in 408. If the fulfillment readyfails, the order is cancelled in 404. If the fulfillment is deemedready, the order proceeds depending on whether the order was for anexperience or another product.

If the order is for an experience, the process proceeds to charge theuser in 410, for example by charging their credit card. Next, theprescheduled events proceed to pending events, whereas thenon-prescheduled events proceed to a pending schedule and schedulenegotiation until they are successfully schedules. After the pendingevent stage, the system waits for scheduled time I travel if necessary,and then the event happens. When the event has taken place, revenue maybe recognized.

If the order is not for an experience, a determination may be made as towhether the vendor is to fulfill the order or not in 412. If the vendoris to fulfill the order, the next determination is whether the order isfor a physical or digital goods.

If the order is for physical goods, the goods are picked andpersonalized in 420. If there is an issue in personalization (e.g., anorder cannot be personalized as specified), the order goes back to thepicked step until the order is correct and ready to proceed. A qualityassurance (QA) evaluation is performed, and after QA approval, thephysical goods are packed. Then the order price is charged and thecarrier ships the goods. Finally, the shipped goods trigger the systemto recognize revenue.

If the goods are digital, the digital goods are produced in 430, andthen a QA check may be performed on them. If there is an issue, thedigital goods are produced again and QA checks again until the order iscorrect. Once QA approval is obtained, a charge can be issued forpayment. A produced pending stage may follow until a period to wait forscheduled delivery time elapses. After this time, the order is sent orposted. Finally, the shipped goods trigger the system to recognizerevenue.

If the goods to be shipped are not vendor fulfilled in 412, and thegoods are physical, the goods are picked in 440. A QA evaluation mayalso be performed, and if there is an issue, the goods are picked againuntil QA approves. After QA approval, the physical goods are packed.

Then the order price is charged and the carrier ships the goods.Finally, the shipped goods trigger the system to recognize revenue.

If the goods to be shipped are not vendor fulfilled in 412, and thegoods are digital, then the digital goods are produced in 450 andchecked by QA. If there is an issue, the digital goods are producedagain until QA approves. Next, if the QA approves, the charges areapplied. The produced goods are then pending and may have to wait for ascheduled time to send/post the goods. Finally, the shipped goodstrigger the system to recognize revenue.

As such, systems and methods herein provide transactions andmonetization for celebrities by providing payment and collectionservices. The fulfillment platform, with certain illustrativefunctionality shown in FIG. 4, allows for order fulfillment for avariety of scenarios including, but not limited to, single orders orlarge group purchases such as a group of friends joining together topurchase a private concert. For a vendor or celebrity using this system,money paid for their services can be available immediately via adashboard interface.

Systems and methods herein may also include different levels of accessfor users, according to some implementations. Exemplary levels mayinclude a fee-based subscription, a set of privileges earned by actionstracked on the site, and various combinations of the two.

Between levels of free membership and all-access paid membership, theremay be intermediate levels of membership with varying subscriptionrates, and corresponding access to information and opportunities for thefan, according to some embodiments.

Other aspects of systems and methods herein may include transactionalsharing.

Implementations may also allow for multiple types of content sharing andtransactions. These include, but are not limited to, the selling ofmemorabilia and the use of digital/online souvenirs as a receipt andkeepsake for individual people such as fans/users, celebrities, donorsand collectors, as well as organizations such as studios, non-profits,companies, brands, and sports teams including players and owners.

Transactions performed via the platforms herein may includepay-for-content/privileges features and implementations. Among otherthings, systems and methods involving pay-for-content/privilegesfunctionality may serve as a publishing platform, aggregation tool,and/or distribution channel enabling celebrities to offer exclusivecontent and a first-look rights on special offers to fans/users for afee. For example, fans/users may subscribe to a famous theme or endeavorchannel (e.g., chefs channel) in order to view a weekly livepoint-of-view broadcast of the activity or event of interest (e.g., chefcooking a particular dish). Other exemplary implementations may includefans or users subscribing to another channel, such as a famoussnowboarder's channel, in order to access an exclusive archive of tricktips and to have the opportunity to buy VIP passes and/ormeet-and-greets with the celebrity before they are made availablethrough other channels.

Systems and methods herein may utilize a central computer basedgraphical user interface dashboard that can inform the fan/subscriber ofupdated digital media content and prices, according to some embodiments.Certain personalized options, for example, may include use of celebrityvideo, including video shot by the celebrity, and/or augmented realitydigital content.

Such content may include point-of-view footage.

In some configurations, this content is made exclusive in order to besold to fans or users via a number of different pricing mechanisms.Illustrative pricing mechanisms include, but are not limited by thefollowing examples:

Freemium: non-paying fans/users will still be able to access smallexcerpts of celebrity content, and a limited selection of lo-resolutionphotos; while for a fee based subscription, fans/users are able toaccess more premium, exclusive content including invitations to specialevents and high resolution photos.

Bundle pricing: fans/users are able to choose any number of celebritiesto receive exclusive content from for one price. For example, the fanmay like to follow action stars, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, whosesubscription to their exclusive content runs for $19.99/month, forexample, but they may get themselves a deal by purchasing access toexclusive content for Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise and Vin Dieseltogether for $49.99, for example. Such bundling may also be utilized,e.g., for a fan that wants exclusive access to 8 bands but wants a dealfor bundling them together rather than paying for access to each oneindividually.

Pay-per-view: a subscribed fan may have access to a certain tier ofpersonal celebrity videos from which they may choose for a price;additionally, a fan can buy a subscription for a certain celebrity'scontent, which would then enable them to see a given amount of thatcelebrity's videos, music or other content.

Premiercast: the present systems and methods may provide fans/users theopportunity to receive what is referred to herein as Premiercast, ahigh-concept broadcast feed direct from their celebrity, which they willself-select for free via their membership. One example of suchbroadcasting might include a personalized message from a celebrity,featuring his or her message recorded just yesterday from on the set,etc.

By means of such fulfillment/architecture features in conjunction withinnovative information processing herein, systems and methods hereinprovide fans/users and celebrities with improved ways to connect. Forexample, a fan/consumer can use the platform to verify celebritypresence and participation on the site. Another example may be theability to unite with other platform-based fans/users to create groupofferings for a celebrity, such as asking Jennifer Lopez to perform at alocal party. Still another example may be ensuring that requests forcharity performances are actually delivered, or ensuring that donatedmoneys are funneled to the right charity personnel. Furtherimplementations may process transactions like arranging events such as ameet and greet, having dinner with a celebrity for charity, sending a280-character message of inspiration (or other message) to a celebrity,ordering a birthday voice mail message for one's mom from a favoritecomedienne, purchasing digital souvenirs which include an authenticatedseal such as a digital coin which lets others know a user has had acertain celebrity experience, purchasing a note or a tag from acelebrity for one's social media profile or site, participating in acall or lesson with a hero and commemorating it on a social media site,receiving a personalized video greeting from a celebrity, having a musiclesson from a favorite celebrity, playing an online game with acelebrity, providing more niche or local offerings to local celebs suchas local chefs or sports stars, having celebrities work on projects thatare market-specific, generate reports and analytics for celebritiesabout certain markets, voting on a celebrity and their reputation via aratings system, and participating in a virtual town hall meeting.

Properly handling and processing information to achieve improvedreputation management functionality relates to other facets of thesystem, according to some embodiments. Given that a celebrity'sreputation is directly linked to his/her personal brand, reputationmanagement tools are another resource that agents and public relationspersonnel may find useful. One of these tools may be the platform'sratings system, where fans/users may rate others that they haveinteracted with, as linked to a variety of online services. Indeed, suchfunctionality provides a social incentive for behaving and delivering onpromised goods and services. Systems herein may also be configured topreclude celebrities from interacting with a fan who has a poor onlinereputation.

Another reputational element included in some implementations of theplatform's functionality is turning the system into a game-likeenvironment. Such systems may include game-like incentives such aspoints, medals, trophies, coins and progressive levels to reward usersfor engaging with the site and to keep fans/users returning to interactwith those they want to, on the system platform. These incentives mayalso be displayed on a profile page so fans see which other fans areinteracting with which celebrities and to gamer a competitive urge tocollect more incentives.

Charitable giving may also be an aspect of the system platform,according to some embodiments. Many celebrities have charitable causeswith which they are connected. The charities and the celebrities thatsupport them are always looking for ways to increase awareness anddonations. Here, implementations may be configured to allow fans/usersto connect directly to their favorite star's charity in real time, ornear real-time. Further, a suggestion engine may be utilized to promoteoffers to specific users, depending on their chosen interests. Forexample, a fan who loves Betty White, a noted animal activist, mightreceive a message from Ms. White asking for donations to her favoriteshelter. In exchange the fan might receive a digital souvenircommemorating the gift such as a thank you email, from Betty White. Thesystem platform may handle the payment exchange, and support newprojects or charitable causes from Ms. White.

Further, charitable opportunities may be directly submitted tocelebrities or their representatives and digitally archived, so thatcelebrities can access this info at any given time.

In another example, present celebrity auctions typically only reach alimited number of off-line fans. However, there may be many more peoplearound the world who would bid on the item when given the opportunityconsistent with the innovations herein, such as via the present network,web and/or online functionality. Thus, currently, such items rarelyreceive full market value bids. Charities may use such opportunity withimplementations herein to become more visible regarding their auctionitems, to maximize the time and the attention of the celebritysupporter. This functionality is particularly helpful to smallercharities that do not have large brand names, but still want the supportof celebrities to endorse their brand, and raise awareness anddonations.

Another problem for charitable organizations is that they can miss outon donated celebrity items in situations where the celebrity must donate100% of the item/experience or nothing at all. Such limitation excludescelebrities and offerings where the celebrity would be willing to donatea material percentage of proceeds but still wants to make some money fortheir effort. Implementations herein are configured to providecustomized relationships of this nature, and via these implementations:(1) celebrities are provided functionality to customize theiropportunities, and (2) more charities receive more attention.

Additionally, celebrities often want to start their own foundations, butneed help with the administrative aspects of running a charity. Thissystem may host an umbrella organization that oversees and administersthe charity on behalf of a celebrity. For instance, someone might beable to donate to System.org/EvaLongoria Foundation. Here, then, thepresent implementations may be used to handle the financial transactionsof such a non-profit project.

This system may also be used as a vehicle for charities to fundraise anddrive traffic. These can be rated in an online rating systems as well.In addition, any non-profits need a consistent cash flow because theymay only have a few big fundraisers per year, thus making their cashflow uneven. Non-profits also need general funds for operations.Implementations herein may also be used as a source for funding generaladministrative and overhead costs, or similar aspects for which it isoften difficult to raise money.

Additionally, charities face challenges regarding distribution. They mayhave an email list and regular supporters, but if they have a celebrityitem to auction off on a visible site, they may be able to reach a muchwider audience in order to maximize bidding.

Systems and methods herein may also archive offers or fan-based ideasfor celebrity performances or work, including a timeline.Implementations herein may be configured to utilize these to providemore niche offerings to local and regional fans/users. Also to offermarket tools for agents and managers. Additionally, as discussed above,to enable charities to smooth out their funding year-round, and stayvisible. Implementations may offer celebrities and their teams aninterface such as a control panel enabling them to post offerings forsale, get alerts for tasks required to fulfill sales, respond to offers,and track the status of their listings. This system can add real-timescheduling, delivery and inventory to transactions for celebrities.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example administrative graphical userinterface consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein. Referring to FIG. 5, a map of an illustrative Graphical UserInterface (GUI) of exemplary vendor administration functionality isshown. For example, the vendor/admin GUI may be generated and/orprocessed by the processor circuit 201 and/or vendor UI module 230 ofsystem 200. The vendor UI module 230 may communicate with the vendorprocessor/fulfillment component 105 to cause the vendorprocessor/fulfillment component 105 to display the vendor/admin GUIand/or receive commands from a user. In the illustrative GUI depicted, a‘to-do’ button 502 may display what the vendor needs to do now. The‘to-dos’ 502 /‘current to-dos’ 510 may be the first screen that shows upwhen the vendor logs in. In some implementations, only items that needto be done and can be done now show up on this screen. Items may besorted by priority. Each item type has a custom UI that explains to thevendor the next steps.

The GUI 500 may include a product management button 504, ahistory/reports button 506 an account button 508, and a calendar button512. A list of notifications may also be displayed, for exampleincluding display for the scheduled events happening now section 514,the physical items that need fulfillment now 516, Tweets/Facebook posts518, the scheduled experiences that need a time section 520, the requesta quote section 522, and a messages section 524. The GUI may alsoinclude a fulfillment section 530 and a marketing section 540. Thefulfillment section 530 may include physical items, events, Facebook,and Tweets sections. The marketing section 540 may include Tweets andFacebook sections.

Some examples of the ways a celebrity may use the platform includeallowing a direct conduit to a celebrity for any individual or entity,such as a fan or a movie studio or a partner that wants to provide themwith work or a project, using virtual opportunities to connect withfans/users on social media, and/or enabling a celebrity to better managetheir appointments and career opportunities. With this system, they areable to do as much or as little offered work as they like. They are alsoable to search for types of projects which may be offered.

Additionally, celebrities may manage their own career remunerationwithout paying fees to a middleman. They are also safer in theirpersonal interactions with fans/users, due to cloaking mechanisms. Theymay offer content directly to a celebrity's fan base, thereby bypassingmiddlemen and distribution channels and effecting a grass-roots saleseffort. An example might be a band's pre-selling an album to dedicatedlisteners or fans. Celebrities may take digital control of tracking,publication, and distribution of anything to do with a celebrity's nameor brand. They may publish celebrity content such as direct certainphotos, post on update on a social media site, and share a positivemovie review. Systems and methods are configured such that celebritiesmay steer multiple sites from one control panel and streamline thepublicity process. Implementations may be configured to deliver a wishlist to fans/users or thank you notes to those with whom they haveinteracted. Celebrities may be provided functionality enabling them todonate all or some of the proceeds of a certain concert to charity, andthe giving process can be automated. Systems may also be configured toensure that charity moneys, based on appearances, are delegated to theright personnel, thereby reducing risk of scandal and misappropriation.

As celebrities sometimes have resources at their disposal, this systemcan also feature anyone including lesser known celebrities, which canflatten out the industry's payment curve by enabling many celebrities tobetter find their sales niche. It may also allow fans/users through themiddlemen gatekeepers. Systems and methods herein may initially leverageother people's content and then create their own content. They may alsobe configured to create and/or involve a pay-wall service within analready premium channel.

This system may offer curated and targeted distribution for exclusivecontent, according to some embodiments, for example via the GUI. In somecases this system may offer its own publishing tools. In other cases itmay enable celebrities to use existing publishing platforms and toolssuch as YouTube and Flickr with additional paywall features provided bythis system. For instance, the celebrity publishes a video on YouTubebut adjusts the videos setting so it is only viewable to paying membersof their channel on the present platform. Systems and methods herein maybe configured to do this by marking a celebrity video as private, andembed it behind a paywall, then automatically generate messages tofans/users, who will be enabled to pick their “social circle” of friendsor other fans/users who can pay for this content.

The scarcity of celebrity digital media content can makes it morevaluable and exclusive thus helping maximizing the potential for moremonetization opportunities. This system can provide the ability ofcertain limitations to a given celebrity's digital media content byeither offering it for a limited time, or by limiting the number ofpeople who can download or purchase it. Also as an example, asubscription to certain content can be limited to a fan/user's Facebookfriends, a select ten of whom can be invited to purchase it-such contentmight be a video, a piece of music, an invitation to a meet-up online orspecial event or other forms of exclusive content.

The present content distribution functionality may enable content to beavailable world-wide over a wide area network such as the internet. Tothis effect, this system can create niche site areas for internationalcelebrities, as well as U.S.-based ones.

Systems and methods herein may leverage existing publishing platformsand can publish exclusive content. Fans/users can self-select for freeon this system's publishing platforms, based on their personal “opt in”subscriptions. These include, but are not limited to, social networkingsites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Wordpress, YouTube, Pinterest,Instagram, Vimeo, and any other publishing platform and each will notifya fan when their chosen celebrity publishes something. Theuser/celebrities can select published content as “Private,” while theyembed or Share their content with this system's platform.

Celebrities can aggregate their exclusive content and create bundles—forexample, $19.95 for three celebrity videos, $29.95 for five. A freepreview of the content can be included on the celebrity's pages.

Systems and methods herein may also provide celebrities with socialmetrics, which will help them know and cultivate their fan bases,according to some embodiments. Implementations of this system alsoprovide celebrities with tools to develop their brand and offerexclusive access to content whether it be for free or for a premiumsubscription model. As systems herein are well-suited for power fans,celebrities may be provided with functionality to involve their fans inobtaining input from them to help determine who will go on tour withthem, or who should co-star in a movie with them, as in prizes orcontests, for example. Further, systems may give power fans first accessto celebrity live performance tickets, as a way to create a continuallymeaningful connection, and an important, continuous feedback loop forcelebrities, according to some embodiments.

Many options may be utilized to connect with fans. Some of those optionsinclude social networking websites such as Facebook, for example.Systems and methods herein may be innovatively utilized with such socialnetworking sites, e.g., by using the Facebook canvas as an iFrame byhaving a DRM player inside of an API component of the system.

Third Party Integration

The system platform may be configured as a stand-alone site, and/or itcan also integrate with third party social network websites and mobileapplications. These configurations allow establishment of userpreferences, such as identifying a user's top celebrity idols or usingthe site's recommendation engine to maximize fan engagement. Therecommendation engine may also integrate information from third partiesand suggest items or donations that a fan is able to purchase or makefrom a celebrity wish list.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting interactions among the elements ofthe systems consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how the system mayintegrate with other platforms, including fulfillment and paymentfeatures. As shown, the fan or user may utilize a front end user facinginterface provided by one or more third parties and/or this systemitself. The product type checkout may occur either through this systemor the third party system. The back end system may include theexperience fulfillment components and a database to store the paymentand fulfillment details.

The system connection platform may be a stand-alone website, a socialnetworking site app, or an interface to other third-party social mediaplatforms. Other implementations may be applications such as an HTML 5application, which would provide access to the platform for those whoare not able to download, and have no access to the application.

FIG. 6 provides a high level overview of some illustrative functionalityand architecture of an exemplary system. Product information may bestored in a first database 600 configured to hold product informationand control the front end. This data can be displayed in a variety ofone or more front end components which can be controlled by the firstdatabase 600. Exemplary front end components and their check out modulesmay be different websites 602, 604, 606, 608, co-brandedcomponents/websites 610, 612, 614, 616, and/or front end may include oneor more mobile apps components 618, 620. Each front end can include aproduct selection UI, through which a user may view and/or selectproducts 602, 606, 610, 614, 618. Each front end can also display UIscreens and fields to collect customer information specific to the manyproduct types offered 604, 608, 612, 616, 620. Order data along withfulfillment information can be received via the front end UI by thebackend system 622 and can be stored in a second database 624 configuredto manage order and fulfillment data.

FIG. 7 is another block diagram depicting further interactions among theelements of the systems consistent with one or more aspects related tothe innovations herein. As with FIG. 6, a first database 700 may containproduct information and may provide the product information forprocessing and use by the front end components. Product selection UIfront end components can display product information and receive productselections in 702, 706, 710, 714, 718. Users can view, select, andchoose to purchase products, and the front end can receive customerinformation related to a purchase in 704, 708, 712, 716, 720. The seconddatabase 722 and backend system can receive the customer information viathe front end and manage the order and fulfillment process, at 722. Oncean order is placed, it may be determined whether it is to be fulfilledinternally, at 724. If so, the order may be handled by an internalfulfillment process powered by internal admin UI 726. If not, the ordermay be handled by celebrities/vendors who use the vendor admin UI, at728, which coordinates what things the vendor needs to do to fulfillcustomer orders and when they should be done. As with the customer frontend screens which are customized based on the product type and otherproduct information, the backend systems can process informationdifferently as a function of the type of product being purchased. Afterfulfillment has been processed in 728, a notification 730 is issued toship the order or deliver the expense.

System Processing and Navigation

FIG. 8A is a flow diagram showing how selection of product types andproduct type flags may drive the presentation of the user interfacescreens for ordering, selection, and payment, consistent with certainimplementations herein. These selections can also control the back endfunctionality required for product fulfillment. The architecture allowsnew product types to be created without code changes. Many producttypes, including types that are new to ecommerce/software, aresupported. Each product type has a unique set of fields and UI screensfor a user to complete. Examples of product types may include thefollowing types. A ‘Product Physical’ or ‘Normal Product’ is a normalphysical product (such as a product which may be sold via conventionale-commerce systems). A ‘Facebook Post’ is a Facebook post from acelebrity or vendor which can be purchased. A ‘Twitter Follow’ is aTwitter follow from a celebrity/vendor which can be purchased. A‘Twitter Shout Out’ is a Twitter shout out from a celebrity/vendor whichcan be purchased. A ‘Chat Video’ is an online video chat with acelebrity/vendor which can be purchased. A ‘Chat Phone Call’ is a phonechat with a celebrity/vendor which can be purchased. An ‘Event Physical’is access to an event from a celebrity/vendor that takes place at apreset place and time which can be purchased. A ‘Subscription’ issubscription access to periodic content from a celebrity/vendor whichcan be purchased. A ‘Badge’ is a customized badge from acelebrity/vendor which can be purchased. An ‘Event Preannounce List’ isa special experience from a celebrity/vendor which can be purchased andmay be selected from a list of events. For example, a meet-and-greatwith the celebrity/vendor at any one of the concerts in a musician'sconcert tour may be a product in this category. A ‘Message Video’ is acustom video message from a celebrity/vendor which can be purchased. A‘Meeting Schedulable Digital’ is a digital meeting with thecelebrity/vendor which can be purchased and which may have a time thatis negotiated between the buyer and the celebrity/vendor. A ‘MeetingSchedulable Physical is a physical meeting with the celebrity/vendorwhich can be purchased and which may have a time that is negotiatedbetween the buyer and the celebrity/vendor. A ‘Gift Certificate Digital’is a gift certificate for a digital product or experience such as thosedescribed above, and a ‘Gift Certificate Physical’ is a gift certificatefor a physical product or experience such as those described above.

A product types table 800, which has a record for each product type, maybe included in the system. Implementations herein may utilize UI elementfeatures that present different UI fields and UI screens based on theproduct type of each product. Each product type in the table 800includes product type flag data 802 which can be used to identify theproduct types within the system. Here, for example, variousimplementations and functionality may be achieved by performingprocessing as a function of data fields which represent the product typeflags 802 in the data records/fields of the product types table 800.Also, product type flag field definitions 804 may be provided to definecertain characteristics of each product type. For example, product typesmay be defined as ‘isPhysical’ or ‘isExperience’, indicating whether theproduct is a physical product or an experience, respectively. Producttypes may be defined as having a ‘PresetTime’ or ‘TimeNegotiable’,indicating whether the product (e.g., an experience) has a set time orhas a time that can be agreed upon between the buyer and thecelebrity/vendor. Product types may be defined as ‘LocationNegotiable’,indicating whether the product (e.g., an experience) has a location thatcan be agreed upon between the buyer and the celebrity/vendor.

Product types may also be defined as ‘ContactinfoNeeded’,‘FacebookidNeeded’, ‘TwitterHandleNeeded’, ‘RecipientNameNeeded’, and/or‘CommentNeeded’, indicating whether certain information such as contact,Facebook, Twitter, name, or comment information is required from thebuyer in order to complete the product transaction. One exampleinvolving a SQL realization of product types table functionality is setforth in Appendix A.

In addition, other customization functionality may be controlled byproduct flags 806 in the product types table 800 for each product. Forexample, an ‘isPersonalized’ flag may indicate that the product ispersonalized to the buyer. ‘BackgroundCheckRequired’ and/or‘AgeVerificationRequired’ flags may indicate that additional informationabout the user (i.e., a background check or an age verification) isrequired to complete the product transaction. In addition, furthercustomization functionality may be driven by the order flags fields 808,which are fields specific to each individual purchase of a product. Forexample, an ‘isGift’ flag may indicate that the product was purchased bythe buyer as a gift for another party. One example involving the flagsin the product types table is set forth in Appendix B.

When a product types table 800 has been generated, including some or allof the data described above, it can be used in ordering celebrityproducts. For example, the product checkout screens described in thecontext of FIG. 7 above can present a variety of UI screens to a user.Note that the following sequence is an example only, as other sequencesof UI screens consistent with the innovations herein may be displayed toa user in the process of placing an order; UI screens may be option orrequired. In the example of FIG. 8A, a UI screen A with variable fieldsis presented in 810. This screen presents options for a user to select,such as the type of product to be purchased. Depending on which optionsare selected, the system can present another optional UI screen B in 812or a required UI screen X in 814. For example, screen B can presentoptional fields associated with the choice received via screen A. Oncethe fields in screen B have been entered, the system can proceed to therequired UI screen X in 814. Likewise, depending on what is received viascreen X, the system can display optional UI screen C 816 or required UIscreen Y 818. After all required fields (and/or optional fields) havebeen displayed and data has been received, the order is placed in 820.

Sales, Auctions, and Sweepstakes Processing Aspects

FIG. 8B is a flow diagram showing how selection of product types andproduct type flags may drive the presentation of the user interfacescreens for ordering, selection, and payment, consistent with certainimplementations herein. The presentation of user interface screens mayalso be driven by whether the product is to be sold via standardordering (e.g., direct sale), auction, or sweepstakes in embodimentsconsistent with FIG. 8B. As with the embodiments of FIG. 8A discussedabove, selections can also control the back end functionality requiredfor product fulfillment, and new product types may be created withoutcode changes. Many product types, including types that are new toecommerce/software, are supported.

A product types table 800A, which has a record for each product type,may be included in the system. For instance, SWEEPSTAKE_ENTRY is a newproduct type of product types table 800A. Any product of any producttype can be sold as a sweepstakes. For example, as shown in FIG. 21C andset forth elsewhere herein, such sweepstakes implementations may includeprocessing to allow customers to purchase products of typeSWEEPSTAKE_ENTRY, if the database record in the sweepstakes tableexists, e.g., as shown by way of illustration in FIG. 21C, etc. (2186,832 a), has the sweepstakes.active flag set (FIG. 2188), has asweepstakes.startTime<=currentTime (FIG. 2190) and thesweepstakes.endTime >=currentTime (FIG. 2192), if all of these are truethe system is in state shown in FIG. 21C (2194). In this state, thesweepstakes is active for the particular product and the product is NOTdirectly purchasable. Instead, a customer can purchase sweepstakesentries, which are products of type SWEEPSTAKES_ENTRY (2185).

From all the purchased SWEEPSTAKE_ENTRY items purchased a winner israndomly selected at the end of the sweepstakes (2195). Note that anyproduct of any product type can be sold as a sweepstakes by adding theappropriate information in the sweepstakes table as described in FIG.21B, e.g. at 2175. At the time the winning entry is selected, thefulfillment process proceeds based on the product and productType flagsset based on the productType of the original product (see, e.g., FIG.8B)—the same way fulfillment would have happened had the customerpurchased the original product outright. Further, implementations hereinmay utilize UI element features that present different UI fields and UIscreens based on the product type of each product. Each product type inthe table 800A includes product type flag data 802A which can be used toidentify the product types within the system. Here, for example, variousimplementations and functionality may be achieved by performingprocessing as a function of data fields which represent the product typeflags 802A in the data records/fields of the product types table 800A.Also, product type flag field definitions 804 may be provided to definecertain characteristics of each product type. For example, product typesmay be defined as ‘isPhysical’ or ‘isExperience’, indicating whether theproduct is a physical product or an experience, respectively. Producttypes may be defined as having a ‘PresetTime’ or ‘TimeNegotiable’,indicating whether the product (e.g., an experience) has a set time orhas a time that can be agreed upon between the buyer and thecelebrity/vendor. Product types may be defined as ‘LocationNegotiable’,indicating whether the product (e.g., an experience) has a location thatcan be agreed upon between the buyer and the celebrity/vendor. Producttypes may also be defined as ‘ContactinfoNeeded’, ‘FacebookldNeeded’,‘TwitterHandleNeeded’, ‘RecipientNameNeeded’, and/or ‘CommentNeeded’,indicating whether certain information such as contact, Facebook,Twitter, name, or comment information is required from the buyer inorder to complete the product transaction.

Other customization functionality may be controlled by product flags806A in the product types table 800A for each product. For example, an‘isPersonalized’ flag may indicate that the product is personalized tothe buyer. ‘BackgroundCheckRequired’ and/or ‘AgeVerificationRequired’flags may indicate that additional information about the user (i.e., abackground check or an age verification) is required to complete theproduct transaction. In addition, further customization functionalitymay be driven by the order flags fields 808A, which are fields specificto each individual purchase of a product. For example, an ‘isGift’ flagmay indicate that the product was purchased by the buyer as a gift foranother party.

In addition, products may be transformed into auctions 830A orsweepstakes 832A, which may change how that product is processed and/oris displayed on the product detail page, in the cart, and at checkout,and how the purchased auction or sweepstakes is handled, such as postpurchase. In some implementations, for example, any product of anyproductType (e.g., FIG. 8B, 800A; FIG. 21B, 2145) can be sold as anauction item, if a record exists in the auctions table that that matchesthe productId of a product (see, e.g., 2174, 830A), and theauctions.active flag is true (e.g., at 2176), and theauctions.startTime<=currentTime, and the auctions.endTime>=currentTime,then the product is displayed as an auction 2182 whereby bids arecollected for a period of time 2155, and at the end of the auction thehighest bidder wins 2165. Once the auction has ended and the high bidderis the winner, the system fulfills the won item based on the productTypeof the item which determines a particular set of productType flags beingset, and other productFlags that are set, e.g., at 2135. Thisfulfillment processing proceeds the same as it would have if a customerpurchased the product if the auction was not active (e.g., 2105, 2115,2125). Further, for example, and set forth further in connection withthe Appendices of computer code incorporated herein by reference (boththat attached hereto, and incorporated by reference from the relatedapplications), auction processing may be performed as a function ofvarious auction data fields/types including auctionID, productID,active, startTime, EndTime, startingBid, and/or auctionType, etc.Additionally, as also set forth further in the incorporated Appendices,sweepstakes processing may be performed as a function of varioussweepstakes data fields/types including sweepstakesID, productID,active, startTime, and/or EndTime, etc.

Additional details of the above are set forth further below in FIG. 21and thereafter.

Turning back to basic processing, FIGS. 3 and 9 are exemplary flowdiagrams of illustrative order placement and customer informationprocessing functionality, respectively, consistent with one or moreaspects related to the innovations herein. These diagrams provide anillustrative overview of how products with an experience product typemay get processed by the back-end, after purchase. While back-endsystems and methods may behave similarly to conventional ecommerceback-ends when processing conventional products, implementations hereinmay possess various novel functionality involved with efficiently handleexperience product types. With regard to making an experience happen,multiple people must be brought together in the same place at the sametime. Multiple people are involved and difficult to schedule a time andplace that works for all involved. Determining, coordinating andcommunicating all the details of the logistics required for anexperience is too time-consuming and error-prone without solutions suchas those provided via the systems and methods herein.

Among other things, implementations herein enable fulfillment of manyexperience orders simultaneously, with various innovative processing,and without losing track of any details. Such implementations providefeatures and functionality that are essential to providing a goodexperience for the buyers and sellers involved, while accomplishingobjectives at a low cost to provide better value to customers whilestill maintaining suitable/sensible profit margins. With respect tocertain implementations, it is important to note that items acquired bycustomers by placing the highest auction bid, or having the winningentry in a sweepstakes, may then be processed and/or automaticallyprocessed via the fulfillment steps appropriate for the particularproductType of the item won/acquired.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart depicting an example of order placementconsistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.FIG. 9 provides one illustrative high level overview of a back-endfulfillment process for experiences. This process may be performed bythe processor circuit 201 and/or experience module 220 of the system200. The illustrative backend processing of an order shown here beginswhen the order is successfully placed on the front end by a customer, at902. In some cases, a purchase is made as gift 904, in which case thepurchaser is not buying the experience for themselves, but instead isgiving it as a gift to another person. The recipient will receive a GiftTicket in this case, at 906. If the gift case, the customer may becharged immediately after the Gift Ticket is sent, at 910, which isearlier in the fulfillment process than charging sometimes occurs in thenon-gift case.

As a next step in this illustrative fulfillment process, at 908, one ormore information gathering processes may be performed, e.g., to makesure all the necessary information has been gathered from the customeror the gift recipient, such as information to schedule the experienceand/or do a background check if necessary. Exemplary details of what mayoccur during an illustrative information gathering process 908 are setforth in connection with FIG. 3. If this processing fails, the order maybe canceled, at 914. After a successfully completed background checkand/or scheduling processes, at 912, payment may be effected, e.g., thecustomer's credit card may be charged (settled) to collect the revenuefor experiences. Here, the credit card may have been previously beenauthorized for the amount of the purchase, so unless the authorizationhad expired, the credit card charge/settle will succeed. If the originalauthorization has expired, and the credit card was not able to beauthorized again, then the order may be cancelled 914 at this point dueto the inability to collect payment. If the money was successfullycollected, an event summary email may then be sent, at 916, summarizingwhat will happen and when. If the experience is not a gift, anexperience memento ticket may be sent to the buyer, at 918.

After such optional processing is performed, final logistics such asfinal location logistics may be determined and entered into the system,at 920. In some cases, for example, the experience may happen at alocation selected by the customer or giftee. In other cases, it willhappen at the location chosen by the luminary/vendor. In either case,the final logistics information will be entered into the system, so theycan be communicated to the customer and/or the celebrity/vendor, as insteps 922-934, via various email or other communication(s) such as thefollowing.

For example, implementations herein may send out up to two additionalreminder emails, the first of which will be sent at a firstpredetermined time value before the experience, at 926.

For example, the first predetermined time value may be a day, a week, amonth, or any other time. If there is greater than the firstpredetermined time value until the experience, the system may wait untilthere is an amount of time equal to the first predetermined time valuebefore the experience to send the reminder/logistics email, at 924.Another reminder/logistics email may be sent closer in time, as well,such as at a second predetermined time value, less than the firstpredetermined time value, before the experience, 928, 930, 932, unlessthere is not more than an amount of time equal to the secondpredetermined time value before the experience. Finally, the experiencethat the customer purchased occurs, 934, and the presently described,illustrative experience fulfillment process is complete.

Celebrations Example

FIG. 10 is an illustration of exemplary shopping cart/ordering pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.Items 1010 added to the Shopping Cart will display in the order theywere added, and remain for X days. Some items allow users to updatequantities from here, and some only allow a single purchase (e.g.Twitter or Facebook items.) The user can select the “x” next to aproduct and it will be dynamically removed from the order summary. Ifthe user updates the quantity the page will auto-refresh and display theupdates quantity, and the updated order total automatically. Users mayselect “Check Out” button 1012 in order to complete the order. A “NeedHelp” module 1014 will display FAQs and the support email address. Thismay be static content added by the editor. A “Continue Shopping” button1016 may be included to take the user to the page previously viewed whenthe Shopping Cart was accessed. A shipping estimator 1018 will allow theuser to enter her zip code, select the shipping speed and view theshipping costs she will expect to pay based on what is currently in hercart. The shipping charge may be dynamically displayed in the module andin the Order Summary module. A Check Out button may take the user intothe Checkout Flow/Shipping page, as shown and described herein.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of exemplary checkout/shipping pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.Referring to the illustrative shipping page of FIG. 11, a user may entertheir zip code here and the related city(s) will appear in a dropdownmenu for the user to confirm city name dynamically. “United States” (orother related country or US territory) will be displayed based on zipcode entered as well. The Order Total 1112 will dynamically update toreflect in shipping charges. The shopping cart contents 1114 will beviewable in this space on every page of the Shopping Cart pages. Theuser can click “Edit Cart” button 1116 at any time to return to the cartto update product quantities or remove or add a product. Functionsassociated with checkout processing may be performed by the processorcircuit 201 and/or checkout module 240 of the system 200.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of exemplary billing/purchasing pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.Referring to the illustrative billing page of FIG. 12, the user canclick the “Edit” button 1210 and return to the “Shipping” page to changethe shipping contact details. The user can update the shipping speed atany time by selecting it in the dropdown menu. This will dynamicallyupdate the Order Total module in the in the upper left comer. The usercan select “Pay with PayPal Account” 1212 and be directed off theCelebrations site to the PayPal page associated with this account (notethat any number of online payment systems could be used in place ofPayPal). Once fulfillment has been made, the user will be automaticallydirected back to this page to complete the purchase path, and PayPalwill be in a selected state. The user can select “Pay by Credit Card”1214 and the page will dynamically expose all the relevant form fieldsfor the user to complete a credit card transaction. As shown in FIG. 12,if the user selects “Pay by Credit Card” the page would automaticallydisplay relevant credit card authorization fields.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of further exemplary billing/purchasingpages, consistent with one or more aspects related to the presentinnovations. In the illustrative billing page of FIG. 13, for example,the user may enter information into all the required fields in order topurchase 1310. On click of the “Continue” button 1312, the credit cardwill be checked for fraud or incorrect entries, and return errorsassociated with them, as shown in the drawings. The selected paymentmethod may be displayed in this module as shown. The user click on the“Edit” button in order to return to the Billing Page to change themethod. The user can create an account at the end, if an account has notyet been made. For users that have already created an account, allfields will be prefilled, and password/confirm password fields showing“*****” to mask the password. The “Send Me Email Updates” checkbox willbe pre-selected. The user can bypass creating an account and go directlyto the Confirm Order page.

FIG. 14 is an illustration of exemplary purchase finalization pages,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.Referring to FIG. 14, user billing information 1410 may be displayedfrom the previous input. The Account information area 1412 allows usersto sign up for an account if they have not previously, or select “NoThanks” button 1414 to merely complete the transaction without signingup. The “Complete Purchase” button 1416 will submit the purchase andreturn a confirmation message to the user when the transaction has beenmade.

FIG. 15 is an illustration of exemplary confirmation pages, consistentwith one or more aspects related to the innovations herein. Here, suchconfirmation page confirms the order, and may provide an order number1510 and a link back to the Landing Page for this Celebrations site, asshown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 16 is an illustration of exemplary pages consistent with aspects ofthe innovations herein. While the application could be integrated withany number of social media sites, this example illustrates anintegration with the Facebook social media site. The social mediaprocesses described with respect to FIG. 16 may be performed by theprocessor circuit 201 and/or social media UI module 210 of the system200. In this example, run via Facebook system processing, the pageallows users to click the Celebrate With Me button 1620. Theidentification area 1622 may then describe the celebrity and advertisethe Celebration. An example experience, here “let's have lunch” 1624 ishighlighted. The user may inquire more about this experience by clickingon it or hovering over it. The pop-up window 1626 can show more detailsabout the experience and allow the user to “Buy it Now.” Further, theuser may click the button to “Learn More” 1628 in order to learn moredetails. In FIG. 16, the user can click the “Buy Now” button 1626 and godirectly to the permissions step, then to the Celebrations Product Pageassociated with that button.

FIG. 17 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein. In this example,the landing page is displayed to a user who is not logged in to thesystem, but information similar to that presented in this example mayalso be presented to a user in other contexts. While the applicationcould be integrated with any number of social media sites, this exampleillustrates an integration with the Facebook social media site. In thisexample, e.g. run via Facebook system processing, the Celebrations AppCanvas page 1720 will provide the user with an overview of theCelebrity's Celebrations offerings. This canvas space may give thesocial networking site user a destination to visit while within thesocial networking site, and a starting point into the externalexperience via the “Connect with Facebook” button and “Connect to seethe price” links. The user may click the “Connect with Facebook” or the“Connect to see the price” links in order to access the Celebrationsexternal site. This will launch the Facebook Permissions window in theFacebook example, then take the user into the Celebrations site onceFacebook Permissions have been granted. High level overview of all thecurrent offerings available on the Celebrations web site for thiscelebrity may be provided in this space 1722. The design may allow fortext updates as the celebrity's offerings change. The user may havesecondary calls-to-action in this interface (e.g., “Connect to see theprice”) that may also launch the Facebook Permissions window, then takethe user into the Celebrations site once Facebook Permissions have beengranted. A charity tied to the celebrity's Celebrations program may befeatured in this space 1724 if the celebrity's product is associatedwith a charity. The charity's logo and the “learn more” link may bothopen in a separate browser window when clicked, and may display thecharity's “About Us” page on their web site. The footer links 1726 maytake the user to the related page on an external Celebrationsnon-authenticated site if the user clicks on Terms and Conditions,Privacy Policy or About Us links. In other embodiments, some or all ofthe external features may be included within the social networking app,so that a user's interaction with the links/buttons may cause new datato be displayed within the social networking site itself.

FIG. 18 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, to enable usersto harness the power of social media with the experience fulfillmentsystem, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein. In this example, the landing page is displayed to a user who isnot logged in to the system, but information similar to that presentedin this example may also be presented to a user in other contexts. Whilethe application could be integrated with any number of social mediasites, this example illustrates an integration with the Facebook socialmedia site. In this example, the Global Navigation bar 1820 may displaya welcome message if a user accesses the site and is not recognized. Theuser may not be able to see prices of any items or buy anything untilshe clicks the “Connect with Facebook” button. Log in may prompt theuser to use Facebook Connect to log in again from here or enter an emailaddress and password used when requesting an invite. The user can alsoclick on the “Connect with Facebook” button to log in. The system maythen bypass the Accept Permissions window and refresh the site with thesigned-in state if a user has previously granted Facebook Permissionsfor this site. Users can also access prices and buy items by clickingthe “request an invitation” link 1822. The “Connect with Facebook”button may present the Accept Permissions window, and the “request aninvitation” link may present the “Request an Invitation” pop-overwindow. Each item for sale may display information which may enable auser to learn more about the item, for example its title, shortdescription, and “Connect to see Price” link 1824 in place of the price.The user may be required to click “Connect with Facebook” or create apassword from an email invite in order to see the price. The buttonimage and the item title may both link to the corresponding ProductDetail Page, which may be an external page in some embodiments or aninternal part of the social media app in other embodiments.

FIG. 19 is an illustration of an exemplary social media site permissionspage, consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovationsherein. While the application could be integrated with any number ofsocial media sites, this example illustrates an integration with theFacebook social media site. In this example, all users that click on the“Connect with Facebook” or “Buy Now” button or the “Connect to seePrice” link may be required to accept Facebook Permissions, shown inthis space 1920, to visit the Celebrations site and purchase items, viathe “Allow” button. On click, the system may store the user's FacebookID and all public data. Post on your behalf 1922 can be turned off byusers, but if it is not then the app can post to a user's Facebooktimeline. Notifications and posts to an authenticated user's Facebooktimeline could include, for example, the following triggers: NEWITEM—“[celebrity name] just added something new to his/her Celebrationssite. Visit [celebrity name] Celebrations.”; FRIEND PURCHASE—“[Friendname] just purchased something from the [celebrity name] Celebrationssite. Visit [celebrity name] Celebrations.”; PROMOTIONAL ITEM—“[productname] is now available on the celebrity name] Celebrations site. Howmuch would you spend to own it?”; LIMITED QUANTITIES—“Only [x] moreavailable of [product name] [celebrity name.] Buy it now on [celebrityname] Celebrations.”

FIG. 20 is an illustration of an exemplary landing page, consistent withone or more aspects related to the innovations herein. In this example,the landing page is displayed to a user who is not logged in to thesystem, but information similar to that presented in this example mayalso be presented to a user in other contexts. While the applicationcould be integrated with any number of social media sites, this exampleillustrates an integration with the Facebook social media site. In thisexample, once the user's permissions have been granted, he or she willbe recognized with their first name 2020 pulled from their Facebookprofile. Each item for sale may display its button background shape,title, short description, and price 2022. The button image, item titleand “learn more” link may all link to the Product Detail Page, which maybe an external page in some embodiments or an internal part of thesocial media app in other embodiments. A How this Works section 2024 maydescribe to the user the steps of the transaction. The Charity's logo2026 and “learn more” link may all take the user to the related page onthe Charity's own web site, popped up in a separate browser window. Thefooter links 2028 may be accessible to signed-in and unrecognized users;clicking any of them will take the user to the respective page in thesame browser window. In other embodiments, some or all of the externalfeatures may be included within the social networking app, so that auser's interaction with the links/buttons may cause new data to bedisplayed within the social networking site itself.

Sales, Auctions, and Sweepstakes Processing

FIG. 8B is a flow diagram showing how selection of product types andproduct type flags may drive the presentation of the user interfacescreens for ordering, selection, and payment, consistent with certainimplementations herein. The presentation of user interface screens mayalso be driven by whether the product is to be sold via standardordering (e.g., direct sale), auction, or sweepstakes in embodimentsconsistent with FIG. 8B. As with the embodiments of FIG. 8A discussedabove, selections can also control the back end functionality requiredfor product fulfillment, and new product types may be created withoutcode changes. Many product types, including types that are new toecommerce/software, are supported.

A product types table 800A, which has a record for each product type,may be included in the system. Implementations herein may utilize UIelement features that present different UI fields and UI screens basedon the product type of each product. Each product type in the table 800Aincludes product type flag data 802A which can be used to identify theproduct types within the system. Here, for example, variousimplementations and functionality may be achieved by performingprocessing as a function of data fields which represent the product typeflags 802A in the data records/fields of the product types table 800A.Also, product type flag field definitions 804 may be provided to definecertain characteristics of each product type. For example, product typesmay be defined as ‘isPhysical’ or ‘isExperience’, indicating whether theproduct is a physical product or an experience, respectively. Producttypes may be defined as having a ‘PresetTime’ or ‘TimeNegotiable’,indicating whether the product (e.g., an experience) has a set time orhas a time that can be agreed upon between the buyer and thecelebrity/vendor. Product types may be defined as ‘LocationNegotiable’,indicating whether the product (e.g., an experience) has a location thatcan be agreed upon between the buyer and the celebrity/vendor. Producttypes may also be defined as ‘ContactinfoNeeded’, ‘FacebookidNeeded’,‘TwitterHandleNeeded’, ‘RecipientNameNeeded’, and/or ‘CommentNeeded’,indicating whether certain information such as contact, Facebook,Twitter, name, or comment information is required from the buyer inorder to complete the product transaction.

Other customization functionality may be controlled by product flags806A in the product types table 800A for each product. For example, an‘isPersonalized’ flag may indicate that the product is personalized tothe buyer. ‘BackgroundCheckRequired’ and/or ‘AgeVerificationRequired’flags may indicate that additional information about the user (i.e., abackground check or an age verification) is required to complete theproduct transaction. In addition, further customization functionalitymay be driven by the order flags fields 808A, which are fields specificto each individual purchase of a product. For example, an ‘isGift’ flagmay indicate that the product was purchased by the buyer as a gift foranother party.

In addition, products of any product types 800A may be transformed intoauctions 830A or sweepstakes 832A, which may change how that product isprocessed and/or is displayed on the product detail page, in the cart,and at checkout, and how the purchased auction or sweepstakes ishandled, such as post purchase. Here, for example, and set forth furtherin connection with the Appendices of computer code incorporated hereinby reference (both that attached hereto, and incorporated by referencefrom the related applications), auction processing may be performed as afunction of various auction data fields/types including auctionID,productID, active, startTime, EndTime, startingBid, and/or auctionType,etc. Additionally, as also set forth further in the incorporatedAppendices, sweepstakes processing may be performed as a function ofvarious sweepstakes data fields/types including sweepstakesID,productID, active, startTime, and/or EndTime, etc.

FIGS. 21A and 21B depict certain exemplary system and transformationprocessing as between initial, auction, and sweepstakes states,consistent with one or more aspects related to the innovations herein.In the example process of FIG. 21A, initial processing may be performedon the subject item (e.g., product) 2110 as discussed above (e.g.,including product type and flag settings).Information/input/data/variables may be processed regardingdetermination of processing for the item 2120, for example determiningwhether the product is to be a standard product for sale, an auctionproduct, or a sweepstakes product. If a standard product is selected,standard processing 2400 may occur, as described in greater detail belowwith respect to FIGS. 22A-24. If an auction is selected, item data maybe transformed into an auction processing format 2140, auctionprocessing 2600, may occur as described in greater detail below withrespect to FIG. 26, and the data may be transformed back into basicprocessing data/format 2180, as described in greater detail below withrespect to FIGS. 25A-26. If a sweepstakes is selected, item data may betransformed into a sweepstakes processing format 2160, sweepstakesprocessing 2800 may occur as described in greater detail below withrespect to FIG. 28, and the data may be transformed back into basicprocessing format 2180, as described in greater detail below withrespect to FIGS. 27A-28. In any of these cases, once a product is sold,either in the shopping cart method discussed above, via auction, or asan award in a sweepstakes, product fulfillment processing 2130 may beperformed. In each case, product fulfillment processing 2130 may beperformed according to the processes discussed above, for example.

In the example process of FIG. 21B, standard processing, auctionprocessing, and sweepstakes processing embodiments are illustrated sideby side. In normal processing, a user selection of a product from alldifferent product types may be received 2105 by a user browsing andselecting products on a Front end. The product may be placed in a cartand a user request to purchase the product may be received 2115.Products may be purchased using checkout processing 2125 for products ofall different product types. In auction processing, auctions forproducts may be presented 2145, 2610, 2610 for products of all differentproduct types (see, e.g., FIGS. 25A, 25B, 25C, 26, etc.) for a user tobrowse and add to cart. User bids for products of all different typesmay be received 2155, 2630, and a top bidder may be declared the winnerat auction end 2165, 2640. Any product of any product type can beconverted to an auction, and once an auction is finished, can beconverted back to a regular product. The winner gets normal productfulfillment processing based on the product type. In sweepstakesprocessing, such as shown by way of illustration in FIG. 28, sweepstakesfor products may be presented 2175 for all different product types wherea user browses and selects a number of entries to purchase and adds tocart. The user sweepstakes entry purchases may be received 2185, 2820,2830 where the user purchases product(s) of type SWEEPSTAKES_ENTRY (see,e.g., FIGS. 27A, 27B, 27C, etc.), associated with a product of anyregular product type. The sweepstakes ends and a winner may be selected(e.g., at random) 2195, 2850 from all SWEEPSTAKES_ENTRYs. A highernumber of entries increases chances of winning. In any case, after apurchase has been made (normally, via auction, or by selection of asweepstakes winner), fulfillment processing may begin, at 2135.

Here, inter alia, an important benefit of this system, is that thefulfillment processing that happens for the high bidder case of anauction, or the randomly selected winner in the case of sweepstakes, isdifferent depending on the product type of the original product. Thesystem will automatically do all the fulfillment steps necessary todeliver the product or experience to the high bidder or winner—no matterwhat the productType of the product is, the same as the system would doif a customer bought the product outright.

When a product types table 800A has been generated, including some orall of the data described above, it can be used in ordering celebrityproducts. For example, the product checkout screens described in thecontext of FIG. 7 above can present a variety of UI screens to a user.Note that the following sequence is an example only, as other sequencesof UI screens consistent with the innovations herein may be displayed toa user in the process of placing an order; UI screens may be option orrequired. In the example of FIG. 8B, a product detail page UI screen Awith variable fields may be presented to the user in 834A. Depending onuser selections, a UI screen A with variable fields is presented in810A. This screen presents options for a user to select, such as thetype of product to be purchased. Depending on which options areselected, the system can present another optional UI screen B in 812A ora required UI screen X in 814A. For example, screen B can presentoptional fields associated with the choice received via screen A. Oncethe fields in screen B have been entered, the system can proceed to therequired UI screen X in 814A Likewise, depending on what is received viascreen X, the system can display optional UI screen C 816A or requiredUI screen Y 818A. After all required fields (and/or optional fields)have been displayed and data has been received, the order is placed in820A. The contents of these screens and the processing may be dictatedat least in part by whether the product is to be sold directly, sold atauction, or distributed to the winner of a sweepstakes.

FIG. 21C illustrates a flow diagram of exemplary processing used incertain implementations herein related to performing automatedprocessing such as determinations regarding handling and/or display ofproduct transaction processing using auction, sweepstakes, or by normalbasic processing routines. Referring to some illustrative processingshown in FIG. 21C, for example, at 2172, the front end product logic maybe processed and/or displayed. The system may then, at 2174, performprocessing related to determining if the product is to be sold atauction by determining if an auctions table exists, for example, as afunction of a productID value. If so, processing may commence at 2176,wherein the system may determine if an auctions.active flag is true. Ifthere is a true auctions.active flag, the system may continue processingto determine if the current time is after or equal to the start time forthe auction 2178 and whether the current time is equal to or before theend time of the auction 2180. If the current time is equal to or laterthan the start time and equal to or earlier than the end time, thesystem may cause display of the product as an auction 2182.

Here, it is noted that Appendix C shows examples of auctions tables.

With respect to other processing, if the product is not to be sold atauction, for example, the system may perform processing to determine ifthe product is to be sold by a sweepstakes. For example, the system maycheck if the product is to be sold using a sweepstakes if the answer toany of the above auction questions is no or negatively responded to. Thesystem may perform processing relating to determining whether a recordexists in the sweepstakes table for this product 2186. The system maycheck to see if the sweepstakes.active flag is true for this product2188. If it is, processing by the system may continue to determinewhether the current time is equal to or after the start time of thesweepstakes 2190. If it is, the system may continue processing todetermine whether the current time is equal to or before the sweepstakesend time 2192. If the current time is equal to or later than the starttime and equal to or earlier than the end time, the system may performprocessing to display the product as a sweepstakes 2194.

Here, it is noted that Appendix C also shows examples of sweepstakestables.

If the product is not to be sold by auction or sweepstakes, (e.g., theanswer to any of the above auction and/or sweepstakes questions is no),the system may automatically default to causing display the product in anormal or basic sales view for purchase 2198.

Now, turning first to the standard product processing, FIGS. 22A-22Dillustrate example non-auction (e.g., standard) purchase processscreenshots, consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein. FIGS. 23A-23D illustrate example non-sweepstakes(e.g., standard) purchase process screenshots, consistent with one ormore aspects related to the innovations herein. FIG. 24 depicts certainexemplary product sale processing, consistent with one or more aspectsrelated to the innovations herein. A standard product may be created2400, as discussed above. This product may be made available for sale2410, for example after the various flags are set as discussed above.Product information may be displayed 2420. In FIGS. 22A and 23A,products are displayed for sale with set prices associated therewith. Aselection of a product may be made by a user and received, causingdetails about the product to be displayed 2430. In FIGS. 22B and 23B,product details are displayed after user selection of a product. Productdetails that are displayed may be selected according to the flagsettings associated with the particular product, as discussed above. Insome cases, a shopping cart may be available 2440 and may be displayedafter a user adds a product to the cart and/or upon user request 2450.In FIGS. 22C and 23C, a shopping bag with selected products for purchaseis displayed. For physical products (e.g., the guitar of FIG. 22C), taxand shipping estimators may be provided in some embodiments. A checkoutoption may be displayed next, when a user decides to purchase theirselected products 2460. In FIGS. 22D and 23D, a secure checkout isprovided, which may allow users to enter payment and/or shippinginformation, for example. The checkout may be processed 2470, andfulfillment may occur 2130 as discussed above.

Products may be auctioned 830A. FIGS. 25A-25C illustrate example auctionprocess screenshots, consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein. FIG. 26 depicts certain exemplary auctionprocessing, consistent with one or more aspects related to theinnovations herein. An auction product may be created 2600. This mayinclude setting flags such as auctionId, productId, active, startTime,endTime, startingBid, and/or auctionType, for example. When the setauction start time arrives (or upon action by the creator of theauction), the auction may be live 2610 and viewable to shoppers. Productinformation may be displayed 2620. In FIG. 25A, the Guitar Hero guitarshows an “auction” tag and a price “from $300”, indicating that theguitar is being sold by auction and has a current (or starting) bidprice of $300. Bids may be received from users 2630. In FIG. 25B,product information is displayed for the auction product, as well astime remaining, auction type (e.g., blind auction as shown), and anoption to place a bid. If a user wishes to bid on the item, a screensuch as FIG. 24C may be displayed in some cases, allowing a user toconfirm their bid and provide information such as payment and/orshipping information. When the auction ends, a winner may be determined2640 (e.g., the highest bidder at the time of auction end). In somecases, a message may be sent to the winner indicating that they have wonand/or requesting further information (e.g., shipping information, etc.)2650. Fulfillment may occur 2130 as described above and in a similarfashion to an item made available for sale normally.

Products may also be distributed to sweepstakes winners. FIGS. 27A-27Dillustrate example sweepstakes process screenshots, consistent with oneor more aspects related to the innovations herein. FIG. 28 depictscertain exemplary sweepstakes processing, consistent with one or moreaspects related to the innovations herein. A sweepstakes product may becreated 2800. This may include setting flags such as sweepstakesId,productId, active, startTime, and/or endTime for example. When the setsweepstakes start time arrives (or upon action by the creator of thesweepstakes), the sweepstakes may be live 2810 and viewable to shoppers.Product information may be displayed 2820. In FIG. 27A, the Victoria'sSecret fashion show shows a “sweepstakes” tag and a price “from $10”,indicating that show access is being sold by sweepstakes and has a firsttier sweepstakes entry price of $10. Entry purchases may be receivedfrom users 2830. In FIG. 27B, product information is displayed for thesweepstakes product, as well as time remaining, an option to purchase anentry, and an option to obtain additional entries (e.g., by sharing thesweepstakes via social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, forexample). If a user wishes to purchase one or more entries, a screensuch as FIG. 27C may be displayed in some cases, allowing a user toselect a number of entries for purchase. As shown in this example,preset tiers may be provided, wherein a certain number of entries may besold for certain prices. Some entries may include additional products(e.g., digital fan badges and/or physical goods). If the user chooses toshare the sweepstakes for additional entries, this information may bereceived and additional entries may be assigned to the user accordingly2840. When the sweepstakes ends, a winner may be determined 2850 (e.g.,by random drawing). In some cases, a message may be sent to the winnerindicating that they have won and/or requesting further information(e.g., shipping information, etc.) 2860. Fulfillment may occur 2130 asdescribed above and in a similar fashion to an item made available forsale normally.

Overall, one illustrative implementation encompassing an array of theabove features may be characterized as a system for processing datacomprising a processor circuit; a fulfillment module in communicationwith the processor circuit, the fulfillment module configured to processinformation to perform a checkout of a product, the product comprisingan experience, a physical product, and/or a digital product; when theproduct comprises the experience, receive a notification that theexperience has taken place and indicate that the product has beenfulfilled; when the product comprises the physical product and/or thedigital product, determine whether the product will be fulfilled by avendor or by the fulfillment module and receive a notification that theproduct has been fulfilled; when the product will be fulfilled by thevendor, send information associated with the product to the vendor; andwhen the product will be fulfilled by the fulfillment module, fulfillthe product; an experience module in communication with the processorcircuit, the experience module configured to schedule a time and/orplace at which the experience will take place; and a checkout module incommunication with the processor circuit, the checkout module configuredto process a charge associated with the product after the product hasbeen fulfilled.

Another illustrative implementation encompassing an array of the abovefeatures may be characterized as a method of processing data comprising:processing, via a back end module of a computer system in communicationwith at least one other processor of the computer system, product dataand database entries from a first database associated with one or moreexperiences, one or more physical products, and one or more digitalproducts, wherein the database entries denote classification andprocessing of the experiences, the physical products, and the digitalproducts using specified product type identifiers and processing typeidentifiers configured to be automatically processed and managed by thecomputer system, the product type identifiers including three or more ofa physical product, a social media product, an event, a physicalmeeting, and a digital meeting, and the processing type identifiersincluding two or more of sales processing, auction processing, andsweepstakes processing; wherein the classification of the product typesincludes sub-classification utilizing various Boolean flags, including aproduct flag, an experience flag, a negotiate schedule time flag, anegotiable location flag, a vendor fulfill flag, and a gift flag;determining, via the backend module, whether a product is subject tosales processing, auction processing, or sweepstakes processing based onthe processing type identifier and, when the product is subject toauction processing or sweepstakes processing, transforming the productinto an auction processing or a sweepstakes processing format;receiving, via the backend module, data associated with a checkout ofthe product from a user when the product is subject to sales processing;receiving, via the backend module, data associated with a winning bidfor the product from the user when the product is subject to auctionprocessing and transforming the product back into a standard format;selecting, via the backend module, a user associated with a sweepstakesentry for receipt of the product when the product is subject tosweepstakes processing and transforming the product back into a standardformat; processing the product via different user interface screens as afunction of the physical flag; determining, via the backend module'sprocessing of the gift flag, whether the product has been purchased as agift; performing processing of a plurality of routines, the routinescomprising: a first routine, executed when the product has beenpurchased as a gift, for sending, via the backend module, a gift ticketto a recipient; a second routine for processing, via the backend module,a charge associated with the product; a third routine, executed when theproduct has not been purchased as a gift, for sending, with the backendmodule, a ticket to the user; a fourth routine, executed as a functionof the product type identifier being the physical event, the physicalmeeting or the digital meeting, for sending, via the backend module,information associated with the product to the vendor; a schedulingroutine for scheduling, via the backend module, a time, logistics andplace at which an activity associated with the purchased product willtake place, wherein the scheduling routine comprises: processinginformation regarding negotiation of schedule logistics based on thenegotiate schedule time flag and the negotiate location flag;determining, via the backend module, a scheduled time and a scheduledplace associated with the product; and writing the schedule logistic toa database; and sending, via the backend module, a reminder to the userand/or the recipient at a time before the scheduled time associated withthe product.

Further Implementations and Nuances

Systems and methods herein implemented via stand-alone webpageconfiguration(s) may not be appropriate for all celebrities. In thesecases, implementations may be configured to produce a white-labelversion of the platform. For example, celebrity may have a large fanbase, but may also need assistance in order to maintain and not damagetheir brand. Conversely, systems and methods may also be configurable tocreate custom platforms and functionality for other celebrities such asa George Clooney or Angelina Jolie.

With regard to additional related applications, this application bearsrelation to U.S. application Ser. Nos. 13/951,420, 13/951,422,13/951,457, and 13/987,461, all filed Jul. 25, 2013, PCT application No.PCT/US2013/052150, published as WO2014/018810, application Ser. No.13/868,031, filed Apr. 22, 2013, published as US2014/0032371A1, now U.S.Pat. No. 8,756,110, application Ser. No. 14/080,796, filed Nov. 15,2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,811,794, as well as U.S. provisional patentapplication Nos. 61/741,699, 61/741,700, 61/741,719, 61/741,726,61/675,790, 61/675,795, and 61/675,801, all filed Jul. 25, 2012, whichare all incorporated herein by reference in entirety (esp includingtheir appendices of computer code).

The innovations herein may be implemented via one or more components,circuits, systems, servers, appliances, other subcomponents, ordistributed between such elements. When implemented as a system, suchsystems may include an/or involve, inter alia, components such assoftware modules, general-purpose CPU, RAM, etc. found ingeneral-purpose computers, and/or FPGAs and/or ASICs found in morespecialized computing devices. In implementations where the innovationsreside on a server, such a server may include or involve components suchas CPU, RAM, etc., such as those found in general-purpose computers.

Additionally, the innovations herein may be achieved via implementationswith disparate or entirely different software, hardware and/or firmwarecomponents, beyond that set forth above. With regard to such othercomponents (e.g., software, processing components, etc.) and/orcomputer-readable media associated with or embodying the presentinventions, for example, aspects of the innovations herein may beimplemented consistent with numerous general purpose or special purposecomputing systems or configurations. Various exemplary computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable foruse with the innovations herein may include, but are not limited to:software or other components within or embodied on personal computers,servers or server computing devices such as routing/connectivitycomponents, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, consumer electronicdevices, network PCs, other existing computer platforms, distributedcomputing environments that include one or more of the above systems ordevices, etc.

In some instances, aspects of the innovations herein may be achieved viaor performed by logic and/or logic instructions including programmodules, executed in association with such components or circuitry, forexample. In general, program modules may include routines, programs,objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasksor implement particular instructions herein. The inventions may also bepracticed in the context of distributed software, computer, or circuitsettings where circuitry is connected via communication buses, circuitryor links. In distributed settings, control/instructions may occur fromboth local and remote computer storage media including memory storagedevices.

Innovative software, circuitry and components herein may also includeand/or utilize one or more type of computer readable media. Computerreadable media can be any available media that is resident on,associable with, or can be accessed by such circuits and/or computingcomponents. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readablemedia may comprise computer storage media and communication media.Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other opticalstorage, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desiredinformation and can accessed by computing component. Communication mediamay comprise computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules and/or other components. Further, communication media mayinclude wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection,however no media of any such type herein includes transitory media.Combinations of the any of the above are also included within the scopeof computer readable media.

In the present description, the terms component, module, device, etc.may refer to any type of logical or functional software elements,circuits, blocks and/or processes that may be implemented in a varietyof ways. For example, the functions of various circuits and/or blockscan be combined with one another into any other number of modules. Eachmodule may even be implemented as a software program stored on atangible memory (e.g., random access memory, read only memory, CD-ROMmemory, hard disk drive, etc.) to be read by a central processing unitto implement the functions of the innovations herein. Or, the modulescan comprise programming instructions transmitted to a general purposecomputer or to processing/graphics hardware via a transmission carrierwave. Also, the modules can be implemented as hardware logic circuitryimplementing the functions encompassed by the innovations herein.Finally, the modules can be implemented using special purposeinstructions (SIMD instructions), field programmable logic arrays or anymix thereof which provides the desired level performance and cost.

As disclosed herein, features consistent with the present inventions maybe implemented via computer-hardware, software and/or firmware. Forexample, the systems and methods disclosed herein may be embodied invarious forms including, for example, a data processor, such as acomputer that also includes a database, digital electronic circuitry,firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Further, while some ofthe disclosed implementations describe specific hardware components,systems and methods consistent with the innovations herein may beimplemented with any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.Moreover, the above-noted features and other aspects and principles ofthe innovations herein may be implemented in various environments. Suchenvironments and related applications may be specially constructed forperforming the various routines, processes and/or operations accordingto the invention or they may include a general-purpose computer orcomputing platform selectively activated or reconfigured by code toprovide the necessary functionality. The processes disclosed herein arenot inherently related to any particular computer, network,architecture, environment, or other apparatus, and may be implemented bya suitable combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Forexample, various general-purpose machines may be used with programswritten in accordance with teachings of the invention, or it may be moreconvenient to construct a specialized apparatus or system to perform therequired methods and techniques.

Aspects of the method and system described herein, such as the logic,may also be implemented as functionality programmed into any of avariety of circuitry, including programmable logic devices (“PLDs”),such as field programmable gate arrays (“FPGAs”), programmable arraylogic (“PAL”) devices, electrically programmable logic and memorydevices and standard cell-based devices, as well as application specificintegrated circuits. Some other possibilities for implementing aspectsinclude: memory devices, microcontrollers with memory (such as EEPROM),embedded microprocessors, firmware, software, etc. Furthermore, aspectsmay be embodied in microprocessors having software-based circuitemulation, discrete logic (sequential and combinatorial), customdevices, fuzzy (neural) logic, quantum devices, and hybrids of any ofthe above device types. The underlying device technologies may beprovided in a variety of component types, e.g., metal-oxidesemiconductor field-effect transistor (“MOSFET”) technologies likecomplementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”), bipolar technologieslike emitter-coupled logic (“ECL”), polymer technologies (e.g.,silicon-conjugated polymer and metal-conjugated polymer-metalstructures), mixed analog and digital, and so on.

It should also be noted that the various logic and/or functionsdisclosed herein may be enabled using any number of combinations ofhardware, firmware, and/or as data and/or instructions embodied invarious machine-readable or computer-readable media, in terms of theirbehavioral, register transfer, logic component, and/or othercharacteristics. Computer-readable media in which such formatted dataand/or instructions may be embodied include, but are not limited to,non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g., optical, magnetic orsemiconductor storage media) though again does not include transitorymedia. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to beconstrued in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustivesense; that is to say, in a sense of “including, but not limited to.”Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural orsingular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,”“hereunder,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import refer to thisapplication as a whole and not to any particular portions of thisapplication. When the word “or” is used in reference to a list of two ormore items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of theword: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and anycombination of the items in the list.

Although certain presently preferred implementations of the inventionhave been specifically described herein, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art to which the invention pertains that variations andmodifications of the various implementations shown and described hereinmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limitedonly to the extent required by the applicable rules of law.

APPENDIX A Product Types SELECT ‘ProductTypes’ AS ACTION; DROP TABLE IFEXISTS ProductTypes; CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS ProductTypes(productTypeId    SMALLINT NOT NULL auto increment, productTypeNameuiGroup varchar (75), varchar(20), physical  boolean not null default 0,physical real world item or in person event(if false is digital item orevent than can be transfered electronically) experience   boolean notnull default 0, experience that happens in real time (physical ordigital) personalized   boolean not null default 0, this item can bepersonalized, so need to ask user for personalization info when buyingusePresetEventTime boolean not null default 0, -- if true, useproducts.eventTime produceByScheduleTime   boolean no null default 0, iftrue, use orderiteminfos.scheduleTime as the time the item needs to beproduced by all is well -- as long as the item is produced before thistime, negotiateScheduleTime  boolean not null default 0, -- if true, useorderiteminfos.scheduleTime to store the result of the schedulingprocess allowVendorEntry boolean not null default 0, celebrity/vendorscan enter products of this type negotiableLocation false means fixedlocation bestContactinfoNeeded boolean not null default 0, -- if booleannot null default 0, - if true, means ask for Best Phone number, bestemail to reach you AFTER CHECKOUT occasionBeforeCheckoutNeeded  booleannot null default 0, - if true, ask for occassion before checkout  occasionAfterCheckoutNeeded  boolean not null default 0, - if true,ask for occasion after checkout facebookidNeeded boolean not null iftrue, will ask for facebook ID of the user or obtionally from the userslist of friends twitterHandleNeeded  boolean not null default 0, iftrue, will ask for the Twitter handle from the user nameNeeded  booleannot null default 0, - ask for the users name commentBeforeCheckoutNeeded boolean not null default 0, Must add comments before checkoutcommentAfterCheckoutNeeded Must add comments after checkout boolean notnull default 0, eventTypeAfterCheckoutNeeded ask for event type aftercheckout boolean not null default 0, infoBeforeCheckoutNeeded ask frominfo before checkout boolean not null default 0 ,nameAfterCheckoutNeeded  boolean not null default 0 , - ask for theusers name after checkout recipientEmailNeeded boolean not null default0 , for recipient Email before checkout primary key (productTypeid),index(uiGroup) ENGINE = InnoDB; -- ask Flags in productTypes table

APPENDIX B Flags in productTypes table replace into producttypes values(1, ‘Product Physical’, “G2 ”, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; replace into producttypes values (2, ‘FacebookPost’, “G1”, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ;replace into producttypes values (3, ‘Twitter Follow’, “G1”, 0, 0, 1, 0,1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; replace into producttypesvalues (4, ‘Twitter Shout Out’, “G1”, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0,0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; replace into producttypes values (5, ‘ChatVideo’, “G1”, 0, 1, 1, 0, o, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ;replace into producttypes values (6, ‘Chat Phone Call’, “G1”, 0, 1, 1,0, o, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; replace intoproducttypes values (7, ‘Event Physical’, “G1”, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0,1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; that has a predefined date, time,replace into producttypes values 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; this is acelebrity happening and location (8, ‘Subscription’, “G1”, 0, 0, 1, 1,0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, replace into producttypes values (9, ‘Badge’, “G1”,0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; replace intoproducttypes values ( 10, “G1”, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; ‘EventPre-announce List’, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, replace intoproducttypes values ( 11, ‘Message Video’, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, “G1”, 0, 1, 0,0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; replace into producttypes values (12,‘Meeting Scheduleable Digital’, “G1”, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; 0, 1, 1,0, o, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, o, this is a digital happening where the date, timeand location is negotiable and can be changed replace into producttypesvalues (13, ‘Meeting Scheduleable Physical’, “G1”, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0,0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; this is a digital happening wherethe date, time is negotiable and can be changed, the location is fixedreplace into producttype values (14, ‘Event Digital’, “G1”, 0, 1, 0, 1,o, o, o, o, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; happening that has apredefined date, replace into producttypes values (15, “G1”, 0, 0, 0, 0,0, 0, 0 ) ; this is a celebrity time, and location ‘Gift CertificateDigital’, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, replace into producttypesvalues (16, ‘Gift Certificate Physical’, “G1”, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ) ; replace into producttypes values (17,‘Meeting Scheduleable Physical Location negotiable’, “G1”, 1, 1, 1, 0,0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,0); 1 this is a digital happeningwhere the date, time, and LOCATION is negotiable and can be changedreplace into producttypes values (18, ‘Product Physical Personalized’,“G2 ”, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0) ;

APPENDIX C -- Auction and Sweepstakes Related Database Schema - CREATETABLE IF NOT EXISTS ProductTypes( productTypeid SMALLINT NOT NULL autoincrement sweepstakesEntry  boolean not null default 0, -- sweepstakesentries are separate products that have special behavior within thesystem -- Sweepstakes -- A master sweepstakes product behaves like anormal product if the time < sweepstakes.startTime or >sweepstakes.endTime -- SELECT ‘Sweepstakes’ AS ACTION; DROP TABLE IFEXISTS Sweepstakes; CREATE TABLE Sweepstakes( sweepstakeId   int NOTNULL auto_increment, productId  INTEGER, active boolean not null default0, startTime  datetime, endTime   datetime, primary key(sweepstakeid),index(productId) )ENGINE = InnoDB; -- Table used to track sweepstakesentries -- At time order is placed that purchases one or moresweepstakes entries, one of these records is created. --  -- When thesweepstakes ends, need to select the winner. Here's the steps: -- lockthis table, find the smallest sweepstakeEntryId for this sweepstakeid-- First entry index is 0, if the entryCount of the first entry is 5,then the entryindex of the second Entry is 5, and so on -- for all therest of the SweepstakesEntries, assign increasing entryindex based onadding the entryCount from the previous entry. -- for the finalsweepStakesEntryId, define sweepstakeid.winRandomintegerMax to bemax(SweepstakeEntryId - -  for this sweepstakesId).entryindex +entryCount --once sweepstakes.winRandomintegerMax is selected, wedetermine the winner by selecting a random integer in the range[O ..winRandomintegerMax−1], this value becomes winRandominteger -- Thewinner is the SweepstakesEntryId whose entryindex < winRandominteger ANDentryindex+entryCount < winRandominteger. -- the winningsweepstakesEntryId becomes winning_sweepstakesEntryId. -- then unlockthe table SELECT ‘SweepstakeEntries’ AS ACTION; DROP TABLE IF EXISTSSweepstakeEntries; CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS SweepstakeEntries(sweepstakeEntryId         INTEGER NOT NULL auto_increment, sweepstakeid        INTEGER NOT NULL, userId INTEGER NOT NULL, -- user whosweepstakes entry is for orderItemInfoId          INTEGER,   -- if thesweepstake entry is from an order then this is the item.   createdTime         TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_ TIMESTAMP,   entryCount         integer, -- Number of entries purchased in this item  entryindex integer,  -- First entry index is 0, if the entryCount ofthe first entry is 5, then the entryindex of the second Entry is 5, andso on   primary key(sweepstakeEntryId), index(userId),  index(sweepstakeid),   index(orderitemInfoId),   index(entryindex) )ENGINE = InnoDB; -- Auctions -- SELECT ‘Auctions’ AS ACTION; DROP TABLEIF EXISTS Auctions; CREATE TABLE Auctions(   auctionId int NOT NULLauto_increment,   productId INTEGER,   active boolean not null default0,   startTime datetime,   endTime datetime,   startingBiddecimal(12,2),   sealedBid boolean not null default 1, -- if 1 sealedbid, if 0 unsealed bid (standard - users can see high bid)   primarykey(auctionId),   index(productId) )ENGINE = InnoDB; -- AuctionBids --SELECT ‘AuctionBids’ AS ACTION; DROP TABLE IF EXISTS AuctionBids; CREATETABLE IF NOT EXISTS AuctionBids(   auctionBidId     INTEGER NOT NULL  auto_increment, auctionId      INTEGER NOT NULL,   userId      INTEGERNOT NULL,   createTime TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_ TIMESTAMP, bid  decimal(12,2),   deposit  decimal(12,2),   accepted  boolean notnull default 0,   note  text,   orderId   sessId  integer,  billing_addressid integer,   generic_authld integer,   orderStatusidINTEGER,   primary key(auctionBidid),   index(auctionId),  index(userId),   index(orderId),   index(sessId),  index(concierge_userld) ) ENGINE = InnoDB;

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a database configured tohandle or store product data and database entries associated with one ormore experiences available for sale and/or auction, wherein: thedatabase entries denote classification of the experiences usingspecified product type identifiers, the product type identifiersincluding one or more of a digital meeting, an event, and a physicalmeeting; and the classification includes sub-classification utilizingvarious Boolean flags, including an auction flag and three or more of:an experience flag, a negotiable time flag, a negotiable location flag,and a personalization flag; at least one fulfillment processorelectronically connected to the database and configured to performautomated fulfillment processing of a purchased experience based oninstructions transmitted from a vendor; one or more processors incommunication with a network and data storage, the one or moreprocessors configured to: receive information regarding an item from auser via the network, the item comprising a physical item, a digitalitem, and/or an experience, and the information comprising a directionindicating how to automatically perform processing of the item viaauction processing and basic item processing routines; execute afully-automated and computerized process to cause an auction to becomelive based on triggering of the auction processing, wherein one or moresubroutines of the auction and/or basic item processing are executed;process information including instructions that generate a display ofthe information regarding the item; process bids on the item, the bidstransmitted from one or more users; perform processing to determine awinning bid of the auction, wherein one or more subroutines of theauction and/or basic item processing are executed and wherein thewinning bid of the auction wins the item; automatically generate one ormore checkout and fulfillment routines for the item using the direction,the one or more checkout and fulfillment routines comprising: executingauction processing followed by the basic item processing; executingalternative processing of the basic item; generating, for display to theuser, at least one checkout display interface that is automaticallycustomized by including one or more first fields, which are displayedfor completion by the user, wherein the one or more first fields areautomatically populated as a function of the Boolean flags associatedwith the item won via the auction; and perform fulfillment processingregarding the item won via the auction via the fulfillment routines,including generating, for display to the vendor, at least onefulfillment display interface that is automatically customized byincluding one or more second fields, which are displayed for completionby the vendor, wherein the one or more second fields are automaticallypopulated as a function of the Boolean flags associated with the itemwon via the auction.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the basic itemprocessing further includes: processing data related to making the itemavailable for sale; automatically displaying stored item information ofthe item as a function of a product type flag or a product flag; andprocessing item selection information related to a checkout routine,including automatically displaying GUIs of the checkout cart as afunction of the product type flag or the product flag.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:determine, via the one or more processors, the product flag for the itembased on the information regarding the item; and automatically assign,via the one or more processors, the product type flag associated withthe item based on a product type of the item.
 4. The system of claim 3,wherein the product flag includes a flag selected from a product typestable comprising a plurality of available product types.
 5. The systemof claim 3, wherein the product flag type and/or the product flagdetermines a user interface that is presented to a user, the userinterface selected from one or more user interfaces.
 6. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the product flag indicates that the item ischaracterized as a physical item, a digital item, or an experience item.7. The system of claim 5, wherein the product flag indicates whether theitem is available at a preset time or a negotiable time.
 8. The systemof claim 5, wherein the product flag indicates whether the item is agift or a non-gift.
 9. The system of claim 5, wherein the product flagindicates whether the item is available at a preset location or anegotiable location.
 10. The system of claim 5, wherein the product flagindicates whether user information is needed, the user informationincluding user background check verification.
 11. The system of claim 5,wherein the product flag indicates whether the item is able to bepersonalized.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein automaticallyprocessing the fulfillment capability comprising the basic itemprocessing comprises executing, via the one or more processors, thefollowing instructions: CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS ProductTypes( productTypeld SMALLINT NOT NULL auto_increment.


13. The system of claim 1, wherein the auction processing comprisescausing display of the item as an auction during a time period beginningat a start time for the auction and ending at an end time of theauction.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processorsare further configured to: automatically transform the informationregarding the item into auction format; perform the auction processing;and transform the information regarding the item back into basic itemprocessing format for fulfillment.
 15. The system of claim 12, whereinthe auction processing comprises verifying whether acquiring the itemrequires a background check.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein the atleast one product type, product flag, and/or product identifierindicates if acquiring the item requires a background check.
 17. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the auction processing requires a backgroundcheck, the background check comprises communication with the user tocollect background information.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein theauction processing comprises an accrual entry purchase system, theaccrual entry purchase system increases the number of entries for a userbased on the amount of fees paid.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein theone or more processors are configured to automatically generate thefulfillment routines comprising the auction processing by executing atleast the following instructions: SELECT ‘Auctions’ AS ACTION; DROPTABLE IF EXISTS Auctions; CREATE TABLE AuctionsC  auctionId int NOT NULLauto_increment  productid INTEGER  active boolean not null default 0, startTime dateetime,  endTime datetime,  startingBid decimal(12,2), sealedBid Boolean not null default 1,  primary key(auctionId), index(productid) )Engine = InnoDB.


20. The system of claim 1, further comprising a server in communicationwith the database, the server comprising non-transitorycomputer-readable media including computer-readable instructionsexecutable by one or more computing devices for managing the informationinvolving experiences as a function of the product type identifiers andthe Boolean flags.
 21. The system of claim 20, further comprising anexperience module including one or more processors that store and/orhandle database entries characterizing the experiences available forsale and/or auction.
 22. The system of claim 12, further comprising anexperience module including one or more processors that store and/orhandle database entries characterizing the experiences available forsale and/or auction.
 23. The system of claim 1 wherein, as a function ofcomputerized processing of the product type identifiers and/or theBoolean flags to automatically present and update graphical informationbeing presented to the user and the vendor, the system providesfully-computer-automated auction and fulfillment processing regardingthe item, between the user and the vendor, without requiring anyadditional human involvement except fully-computerized interactionbetween the user and the vendor.
 24. The system of claim 1, wherein theone or more processors are further configured to: execute anadministrator graphical user interface (GUI) routine that provides anadministrator GUI to the vendor, wherein the administrator GUI providesfunctionality or actions to the vendor based on the Boolean flags, thefunctionality or actions comprising two or more of: schedulingfunctionality, a calendar that includes a display of purchased itemsthat have been scheduled, providing a list of action items that stillrequire action or completion, providing fulfillment functionality,providing marketing functionality, and/or providing informationregarding items that require fulfillment or personalization.
 25. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to: provide a vendor administration GUI that includesscheduling functionality to schedule an experience involving the vendorassociated with the item won via the auction.
 26. The system of claim 1,wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: execute ascheduling routine for scheduling a time and/or a place regarding whichan activity associated with the item won via the auction will takeplace, wherein the scheduling routine comprises: processing informationregarding negotiation of timing and/or location based on a negotiateschedule time flag and a negotiate location flag; determining ascheduled time and a scheduled place associated with the item won viathe auction; and writing the scheduled time and the scheduled place toone or more databases.